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FOUNDING 



AND 



ORGANIZATION 



OF THE 



DAUGHTERS OF THE 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



AND 



DAUGHTERS OF THE 
REVOLUTION 



BY 



FLORA ADAMS DARLING, A. M. 

FOUNDER 



INDEPENDENCE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

PHILADELPHIA 






COPYRIGHT, 1901, BY 
FLORA ADAMS DARLING. 



The Autograph Edition is limited to five thousand copies. 
This is No i.i)..il 



PUBLISHERS. 









f Dedicate tbts worn to tbe men anD women 
of tbc patdotic Societies ot Bmerica, wbose 
cbaracters II aDmire, anD wbose frienDsbip 
bcnors me- 



FLORA ADAMS DARLING. 



Washington, D. C. 

January F'irst, 1901. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Introduction 9 

Chapter 1 13 

Chapter II. — a hope realized 74 

Chapter III. — birth of the society in new york, 

FEBRUARY 22, 1891 85 

Chapter IV. — a modern revolution 99 

Chapter V. — the " darling " chapter, d. a. r. — 

A battlefield on HARLEM heights . II5 

Chapter VI. — proposed compromise 131 

Chapter VII. — the desha pamphlet 144 

Chapter VIII. — daughters of 1812 185 

Chapter IX. — adams ancestry in Europe and 

AMERICA 200 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



MRS. FLORA ADAMS DARLING Fronthpuce 

MRS. CAROLINE SCOTT HARRISON Facing Page 130 



INTRODUCTION. 

THIS authentic and authorized history is the first 
that has been given regarding the foundation of 
the Alpha Society of Patriotic Women which was orga- 
nized October ii, 1890, and known as "Daughters of 
the American Revolution." From the day the stan- 
dard of the order was raised the society became 
famous. 

It is a natural desire of nations and people to be 
entirely assured of the basis on which a structure is 
erected or a great society is formed that it may rest 
securely on the Rock of Truth. The prominence the 
first society of the Daughters of the revolution attained 
has created an imperative demand to lift the cloud that 
covers its origin, and have it known who created the 
enthusiasm, who entered upon the work, who was the 
organizer that laid the corner stone of success, and, 
when this was accomplished, who were the co-workers 
with the founder — to aid through united efforts in 
crystallizing into achievement the ambition of the 
founder's dream of Patriotic Daughters, based on 
pedigree and patriotism, to become factors in the destiny 
of Our Home and Country. 

In order to secure historical fact beyond contradic- 
tion, the documentary evidence in this history has been 
submitted by the founder to a jury of expert historians, 
lawyers and men of letters, and after their long and 
faithful research from every point of view, we are able 
to present the History of the Founding herein set forth, 
fully verified by evidence, to stand the test not only of 
students of history, but the test of law. 



lO INTRODUCTION. 

We liave compiled claims and statements ; each, 
letter is in evidence, and nothing is more convincing 
than documentary verification, supported by original 
designs — original drafts of constitutions, resolutions 
and results. Our attention was called to the importance 
of this compilation under authorized researchers for the 
truth two years ago when the New York Tribune asked 
for facts, not fiction, and soon after, the Tribune 
announced that incontrovertible facts would be given. 
It has again become apparent that a more formal pub- 
lication alone can serve the object, aim and purpose of 
those interested in the " true story"; for the following 
item while welcomed with interest by all of the here- 
ditary patriotic societies only sounded a key-note of 
inquiry. 

New York Tribune : 

A gift of uncommon kind comes to the Daughters of the 
Revolution from the hands of Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, the 
founder of this and kindred associations. One part of the 
donation consists of different forms of original records of the 
foundation of these societies — letters of acceptance of office, 
minutes of meetings of early date, etc., etc., all of which have 
been carefully preserved. A collection has also been made of 
press-clippings subsequent to the organization of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution, in October, 1890, and continued to 
the present time, the whole of this material being now arranged 
in complete order to represent the different phases of the history 
of the several orders. The series presents every important episode 
of peaceful and stormy periods marking the advance of the three 
great associations — " Daughters of the American Revolution. 
A National Chapter — independent of state societies, the several 
chapters standing in the same relation to the Mother Society, as 
the Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic to the head of the 
army; the Daughters of the Revolution founded on the basis of 
the United States Republic of America — the general society is 



INTRODUCTION. ii 

made up of independent state societies — bound together by- 
bonds of confederation for a basis of general scope and security — 
the United States Daughters General Society of the War of 
1812 founded on the same lines as the Daughters of the Revo- 
lution, the original design of the founder. 

The documents as well as the press-clippings omit no 
criticism of the founder and other officers whether favorable or 
adverse, showing also, in detail the origin and outcome of "a 
Mother of a Patriot Clause " that caused the disunion of the 
original society. By the adoption of " the Desha Clause," as it 
was known, the society in Washington became collateral, while 
the society in New York refused to recognize the clause and 
remained from the initial, lineal and based on state societies. 
The object, aim and purpose of the scope and plan of work of 
both societies run on parallel lines, and similarity of titles 
invited, atfirst, considerable confusion, especially, as both societies 
were instituted and organized by Mrs. Darling, founder, also 
vice-president general in charge of organization, during the 
initial year of the work of the former society and founder — also 
director general of the latter order; the title "general" employed 
to indicate officers of the general or national societies. In giving 
these facts from the original documents a valuable memorial is 
produced, that in the days to come will be of greater value than 
we can now forecast. To use the founder's words, when trans- 
ferring the trunks of evidence from Washington she wrote, " I 
have produced argument by submitting proof, for others to give 
the x'erdict." 

After the death of Mrs. Darling's only child, Edward 
Irving Darling, a question arose as to the disposition 
of the historical papers, which resulted in the price- 
less treasures coming into our possession, and we find 
pleasure in giving to the public a historical souvenir of 
the founding of the Mother Society of the Daughters 
of the Revolution. It will be found by the facts pre- 
sented that it was the elder who failed to carry out the 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

design of the founder, and the younger society that 
retained lineal basis, state societies, colors, motto ; and 
the founder, as the head and director. And it is to be 
hoped that union will settle the matter upon a strong 
basis supported by just and equitable principles — with 
honor to all concerned. 

Editor 



CHAPTER I. 

IT was not by accident that the organization of 
* women into patriotic societies, with the object of 
perpetuating the deeds of their illustrious ancestors, 
was accomplished. The idea of forming an association 
of women to preserve Revolutionary relics was con- 
ceived in my mind during the Centennial Celebration of 
1876, and as early as the summer of 1884 I had so far 
perfected my plans that I invited my friend Miss 
Eugenia Washington to visit me at my home at 
Nyack-on-the-Hudson, so that we could discuss the 
details of the Revolutionary Relic Society, which I 
intended should be a joint conception of a Washington 
and an Adams. After spending a week with me, 
during which time we visited the many historic points 
in the neighborhood, such as the Andre monuments 
and the jail from which he was taken to be hanged, 
the headquarters of Washington and many others, 
Miss Washington returned to the city of Washington. 
We had decided that the time had not come for the 
promulgation of the idea. 

In 18S9, I was in Washington, which has been 
m}' home for the greater part of my life. I called upon 
Miss Washington and suggested that the centennial 
celebration over the inauguration of the first president 
of the United States, which was then in progress made 
a propitious occasion upon which to launch our Revo- 
lutionary Relic Society. We at once set about inter- 
esting friends, and soon had a dozen ladies interested 
in the plan. Many promises of relics were made and 
the successful development of the society was assured. 
As a part of the work in view, I wrote to the Hon. 



14 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Hamiltou Fish, wlio had charge of the New York cele- 
bration, and requested that he invite Miss Washington 
to be a guest of honor, as she was the great-grand- 
niece of the immortal Washington. As a result of 
this letter Miss Washington was made one of the most 
welcome and conspicuous guests. 

During the spring of 1890 I was a guest at the 
home of General Marcus J. Wright, of Washington, D. 
C. He was at that time busily engaged in the forma- 
tion of the District of Columbia Chapter of the Sons 
of the Americon Revolution, and the general topic of 
conversation in the household, naturally, was in regard 
to that work. The close resemblance of the aims of 
the embryo Relic Society and the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution suggested to me that it might be better 
for Miss Washington and myself to organize a society 
of Daughters of the American Revolution. I broached 
the project to General Wright, and he advised that 
we defer the matter until the Sons had decided whether 
or not they would accept women members. 

On Sunday, April 29, 1890, the day before the 
organization of the Sons in the District of Columbia, 
I called upon my life-long friend, Mrs. Colonel 
Thomas C. English, at her home, 1907 N street, N. W., 
Washington, D. C, where Miss Washington met me. 
We three discussed the events of the day. Then I 
spoke of the plan I had for the expansion of the Revo- 
lutionary Relic Society (of which Mrs. English was to 
be a member) into the broader field of a National 
Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
with the purpose of honoring the memories of the 
women of the Revolution, as the Sons did the men. 
Both Miss Washington and Mrs. English approved of 
the idea, and we discussed whom to invite. Miss 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 15 

Washington said she knew three members of her 
family who would be eligible ; Mrs. English said she 
could vouch for three members of her immediate family, 
and I stated that the six members of my family (my 
five sisters and myself) would complete the number 
we would need to institute the society. 

Mrs. English said she would write at once to her 
aunt, Eliza Jones, who had the history of the family, and 
get her to give the details of the service of the Jones 
family during the Revolution. Miss Washington had 
often told me of the service of her ancestor, Colonel 
Washington, and the fact that my ancestor. Colonel 
Andrew Adams had resigned from the service of the 
King to take up the sword in defense of liberty, 
home and country, was common history to both Mrs. 
English and Miss Washington. I explained to the 
ladies that as I was in close touch with the Sons through 
General Wright (who was chosen vice-president of the 
District of Columbia Society the following day), I 
would get the papers and application blanks of the 
Sons and use them as a basis for our work. 

It was decided that the proper time for the 
announcement of the proposed society would be in the 
fall of the year, when Washington social life would 
begin to revive after the summer. I went to Culpepper, 
Va., and remained there until October 4, 1890. During 
the five months that intervened between April 29th 
and October 4th, I had written to Dr. W. S. Webb, 
president of the S. A. R.,for constitution and papers of 
the Sons and had received an express package con- 
taining the papers etc. I wrote to Dr. Webb and asked 
if he could favor me further by duplicating the papers 
and sending them to Miss Eugenia Washington. He 
courteously complied with this request. I received a 



l6 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

letter from Miss Washington, June 24, 1890, in wiiicli 
she said the package from Dr. Webb had been received, 
and that she would make known the intended organi- 
zation among the ladies of the departments, where there 
were many descendants of famous Revolutionary 
patriots. 

Miss Washington wrote me once and often twice 
a week during July and August, 1890, to keep me 
informed as to the progress she was making in inter- 
esting her friends in Washington in the Daughters of 
the American Revolution. In one of my letters to her 
I said that I would be in Washington on the ist of 
October, andthought that October i ith, the anniversary 
of the discovery of America, would be an appropriate 
day on which to organize. 

As early as July 4th I received a letter from Miss 
Washington, in which she stated that Miss Mary 
Desha, one of her friends, who held a position in 
the Pension Bureau, was interested in organizing a 
society called the Wimodaughsis. It was to be a 
benefit society, and would take in all of the wives, 
mothers, daughters and sisters of the United States, to 
work for the advancement of womankind. The com- 
pany was to have its headquarters in Washington, and 
was to issue stock at $5 a share. Its name was derived 
from a combination of the first syllable from the four 
words, making Wi-mo-daugh-sis. 

Miss Washington wrote me that she had taken 
some stock and was quite interested in the undertaking. 
She added that Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. Ellen Hardin 
Walworth and Mrs. M. S. Lockwood were in the society, 
and that they were also eligible to the Daughters of the 
American Revolution and much interested in the idea. 
I replied that it would be perfectly satisfactory to have 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 17 

them become members of the D. A. R. Miss Mary 
Desba then opened correspondence witb ladies in whom 
she was specially interested in regard to the D. A. R., 
and she also extended me an invitation to become a 
member and officer of the Wimodaughsis. It was 
through the formation of these two societies, both in 
Washington, both being organized within two days of 
each other, the Wimodaughsis on October 9th and the 
Daughters of the American Revolution on October 
nth, and the peculiar coincidence that the promoters 
of the Wimodaughsis were all officers and charter 
members of the Daughters of the iVmerican Revolution, 
that a false statement of the founding of the D. A. R. 
has been established. 

I was in Washington on October 9th, and met the 
ladies who constituted the Wimodaughsis, at their club 
house. They were introduced to me. The list of mem- 
bers had been sent to nie by Miss Desha for approval 
for the D. A. R. I accepted those who were eligible 
for the Daughters of the American Revolution, and 
they were invited to meet at the Strathmore Arms, 
where I was a guest, on October 11, 1890. 

Miss Desha desired to have the two societies unite, 
and she proposed to turn over the stock of the Wimo- 
daughsis to the D. A. R. This I could not agree to, 
as the purposes of the Wimodaughsis were quite 
different from those of the Daughters. As many of the 
ladies who had joined the Wimodaughsis were eligible 
to the D. A. R., it was decided by them on October 9th 
that the Daughters would become a great and popular 
order, and they were anxious to unite with it. I 
arranged with Miss Desha, Mrs. Walworth, Mrs. Lock- 
wood and the other ladies, to give them official positions 
in the D. A. R. They were told what places I had 



1 8 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

assigned to them, and all were thoroughly satisfied, and 
accepted. 

At the initial meeting of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, October ii, 1890, the constitu- 
tion which I had drafted, and which had been read 
and corrected by Mr. William O. McDowell and Mr. 
Wilson L. Gill, two Sons of the American Revolution 
who were giving me the benefit of their knowledge of 
patriotic organization, was unanimously adopted. It 




did not contain a clause admitting members through 
the "mother of a patriot." The original draft as read 
at the meeting is reproduced in another part of this 
history. It was at this meeting that I was made the 
only exception, by being voted by resolution a life 
member in recognition of my work in founding the 
society. 

The seal and motto of the society were suggested 
by me and shown to the ladies at the initial meeting. 
The original drawing of the seal is here reproduced. 

When, at the conclusion of the third meeting, and 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 19 

when most of the members had departed, Miss Desha 
hurriedly offered an amendment to the constitution to 
admit to membership through the " mother of a 
patriot " clause, I stood out firmly against such a 
subversion of the society. A quorum of the members 
was present, and they were told that the amendment 
was for the purpose of making Miss Washington 
eligible, as she was a great-grandniece of George 
Washington, and would otherwise be excluded. Not 
realizing that an amendment to the constitution was 
being "railroaded," the members voted. The amend- 
ment was declared passed. The constitution as adopted 
at the first meeting, provided that an amendment 
could not be made unless proposed at one meeting and 
voted on at the following meeting. So the proceedings 
by which the " mother of a patriot clause " was carried, 
making the D. A. R. a collateral society, were abso- 
lutely unconstitutional and are null. I refused then, 
as I do now, to recognize the legality of the proceed- 
ings, and I persisted that the constitution should 
remain in force as it had passed, until properly amended. 
I struck out the words " or through the mother of a 
patriot," in every paper and in each copy of the 
constitution I sent out. 

The cause for the insertion of the clause is not 
obscure. Miss Mary Desha was the leading spirit of the 
Wimodaughsis. When so many of that society came 
over to the D. A. R. I felt she deserved recognition, and 
I desired to place her as chairman of the Executive 
Board. I showed the list of officers I had selected to 
Mrs. President Harrison, who had accepted the presi- 
dent generalship of the D. A. R., which I had tendered 
her. Mrs. Harrison, who had accepted on the under- 
standing that she should have someone appointed to 



20 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

take tlie burden of work from her, told me that she ap- 
proved of all the of&cers I had selected with the excep- 
tion of one. The exception was Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. 
Harrison stated that, in the capacity of chairman of the 
Executive Board Miss Desha would have to be in close 
of&cial touch with her, and would have to represent her 
of&cially at many places and on most occasions. For 
that reason Mrs. Harrison thought that a married 
woman, one who had social prominence and a residence 
of some pretension in Washington should be chosen 
for the office. 

I realized instantly that in endeavoring to give 
Miss Desha a place of such prominence I had committed 
an error of judgment. I suggested the name of Mrs. 
William D. Cabell. The suggestion was agreeable to 
Mrs. Harrison. I wrote to Miss Desha that she must 
be sacrificed for "the good of the cause," 

This was, of course, prior to the meeting November 
nth, and she proposed to accept the situation. Yet she 
was determined to regain the office. As before stated, 
the number of women in the several departments is 
very large, and a considerable proportion of them are 
the descendants of illustrious American patriots. Miss 
Desha, seconded by Mr. W, O. McDowell, who wanted 
to be a ''Daughter," planned to open the flood- 
gates of the Wimodaughsis, by letting in the wives, 
mothers, daughters and sisters of patriots, which was 
equivalent to inviting all womankind to join. By 
the increased vote that this would bring in, Miss 
Desha and her adviser hoped to control the society, 

1 incurred Mr. McDowell's further enmity when I 
declined to accept his paper applying for membership 
to the Daughters, I was willing, as is so often quoted, 
to have him the " Pope," but I drew the line at admit- 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 21 

ting liiiu to sisterhood. Mr. McDowell also desired to 
have the seal of the society, " a cradle, and in it Baby 
McKee." Because I would not give my approval to 
this indelicate suggestion he and his clique harbored 
the bitterest enmity against me. 

From October 11, 1890, the day the D. A. R. 
Society was organized, until June 18, 1891, when I 
resigned from the position of vice-president general in 
charge of organization, there was never a word uttered 
by any member of the society to the effect that I was 
"an arrogant usurper;" that I " had appropriated the 
work of others ;" that I "was not eligible to my own 
society ;" that I "was not the founder or even ofie of 
the founders of the society." None of these statements 
appeared until I had withdrawn from the organization 
and founded a lineal society, "Daughters of the Revo- 
lution," from the Darling Chapter in New York. 

I held undisputed position as founder in the 
D. A. R., making all appointments and having charge 
of the organization of chapters in the several states. 
Every commission was issued by me. That the officers 
of the board in Washington recognized me as founder 
and organizer is proven by their letters to me after my 
departure from that city to begin the work of forming 
the societies in New York and New Jersey. These 
letters and all the correspondence and official papers 
that I held at the time of my resignation from the office 
of vice-president general in charge of organization, 
are reproduced in this history to form an incontro- 
vertible chain of evidence sustaining me in my position 
as founder of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution. 

I have written innumerable letters to those who 
were connected with the organization during my official 



22 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

term, and I have not, to this date, been confronted witli 
a single one of my letters which disproves my state- 
ments. The only use that has been made of my letters, 
or those of any other member of the societies, has been 
to take certain paragraphs and phrases, and fit them to 
suit the case of those who were working to secure the 
honor of founding the society. The unsubstantiated 
use of words that has characterized the writings of 
Miss Mary Desha, who wrote authoritatively for the 
Board of Managers, cannot stand with the reproduced 
evidence and letters which she and the other members 
of the society wrote to me before and after the organi- 
zation, October ii, 1890. In her " Pamphlet " (printed 
in full elsewhere in this book) she sets the date of the 
founding of the D. A. R. as July, 1890. But the 
society still retains the date, October 11, 1890, although 
it has erased a year's history to take the founding from 
me to bestow it upon Miss Washington, Miss Desha 
and Mrs. Walworth, as the facts will prove. 

With this general outline of the facts and points 
that I propose to establish, I shall proceed in detail. 

In April, 1889, the anniversary to celebrate the 
centennial of Washington's taking oath of office as 
President, at New York, was a special event to the kin 
of the father. Mrs. Lewis Washington told me of the 
numerous honors crowded upon her. I suggested she 
should divide with Miss Eugenia Washington. I felt 
Miss Washington had a place of right with founder's 
kin. I wrote this opinion to Hon. Hamilton Fish, 
supplementing it with the observation that Miss 
Washington had been so long in the Dead Letter Office, 
she had, in fact, become a dead letter — no one calling 
for her ; nor had she appeared on the ramparts sell- 
ing "Washington's Waistcoats." Hence, she was an 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 23 

unclaimed memory of departed glory. He responded 
with pleasure and made her "the Washington feature 
of the show." The event united our desires to carry 
out a plan together to place her properly as a Wash- 
ington. It was after her return from the New York 
celebration, 1890, that we first talked of the D. A. R. 
Society. I told her two ladies had called on me from 
Virginia to unite in the relic work, that I had to go to 
Culpepper to remain on business matters for some 
time, but upon my return, we would form our Society 
of Daughters. She said she was much occupied in 
office, but she would do what she could. Up to this 
date I had never seen or heard of Mr. W. O. 
McDowell, who afterwards became the disturbing 
element in patriotic societies ; nor had I ever seen or 
heard of Mrs. Lockwood or Miss Desha. I had heard 
of Mrs. Walworth, but had not her acquaintance. 
During the winter of 1889-90, Miss Cleveland, the 
authoress, visited me at Culpepper, desiring me to 
read and criticise a new book that she was about to 
publish, which I did. While there she told me Mrs. 
Ivockwood had written " Historic Homes of Washing- 
ton," which she desired me to criticize. I sent word to 
her, "with pleasure." Soon after, I had an invitation 
to the Strathmore Arms, April, 1890. While there, I 
told Mrs, Lockwood of my intended Daughters of the 
American Revolution, which, at once, she approved 
and applauded. She desired me to go with her to see 
Mrs. Emily Sherwood, a correspondent for several 
papers, to give her the scope of the idea, so that she 
could set forth the nature of the work. I did so, and 
early mjicne^ 1890, she sent me a type-written copy 
for approval. I wrote her it was a little early to use, 
as the society would not organize until October. The 



24 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

article appeared before our first meeting. Slie brought 
me a copy when we took up the work. I invited her to 
become a member. I do not recall the date, but with 
Mrs. Lockwood I visited her home in Anticosti the 
third Sunday in April, 1890. 

The next Sunday I spent at the house of Gen- 
eral Marcus J. Wright. He was interested in the 
organization of the District of Columbia Societ}^ of 
Sons of the American Revolution, of which he was 
elected vice-president. I told him of my Society 
intentions, w^hich he approved, but regarded it wise to 
have the Sons fully organized before the Daughters. 
I also saw Dr. G. Brown Goode, and his advice ran 
parallel. I thought they both regarded it a hazard to 
invite a modern revolution. No doubt the}^ foresaw 
that peace would be as impossible as Noah found 
with the animals in the ark. But my ignorance of 
societies made me fearless, and the time had come to 
advance the idea, and I did so without counting the 
cost ; but for a time I was the ark of the covenant 
floating in peace. Miss Washington met me that 
Sunday evening at the home of Mrs. Col. T. C. Eng- 
lish, and in the presence of Mrs. English we talked over 
our plans. I told them what General Wright said, but 
that we would institute the work without delay, for 
" the hour had come." Mrs. English said, " I will write 
to cousin Eliza Jones who has the pedigree and service 
of our family." Before I returned to Culpepper, Mrs. 
English had securedher ancestor's record for admission, 
which she gave me, written by Mrs. Eliza Sinclair Jones 
on the wood cover of a fruit basket. Mrs. Madison Bal- 
linger was the next to give me her lineal pedigree. 
Miss Page Robinson, Mrs. Truehart Buck, Mrs. J. W. 
Green, with members of my own family and fully 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 25 

verified, were secured before July 4, 1890. I invited 
Mrs. Wriglit to become one of " tbe original thirteen," 
but she decided to "wait a bit." General and Airs. 
Wright visited me during June in Culpepper ; the 
General brought exploited work to show me the vwdiis 
operandi ; besides. Dr. Webb, president general of the 
S. A. R. National Societ}^, New York, had sent me by 
express, early in June, 1890, a constitution, applica- 
tion blanks and other printed matter, to guide my work. 
When I acknowledged ithe favors, I asked him that 
one be sent to Aliss Washington, my co-worker in the 
societ}'. He did so. She wrote me she had received it, 
and of the progress she was making ; she said '' a 
society called Wi-mo-daugh-sis is being organized by 
Miss Mary Desha ;" that she had united with it, i. e., had 
taken stock to the amount of $5.00 (I believe this the 
specified amount) ; she also wrote that Mrs. Brown, Mrs. 
W^alworth, Miss Desha and Mrs. Wolf had expressed 
a desire to become " Daughters," and that Miss Desha 
would write an article for the Post. I was much 
pleased to leave Washington in her charge while I was 
working "at large." I arranged with the editor of the 
Adams Magazine, New York City, formerly the Gotham, 
to have the magazine become the exponent of the society 
and that I would take the historical department, as I was 
to make the New York society my "home field." All 
of these arrangements were made during June and 
July, 1890. It is a question in my mind now^ as it was 
tJien^ whether history or developed patriotism was the 
motive power of my action; still, it was history first, 
last and all the time that animated me most, and there 
was but one position I desired. All of these plans and 
desires I made known to Miss Washington, and her 
letters to me were full of interest. I sent my own 



26 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

application to sliow tlie plan ; it was made on a blank 
sent to me from tlie New York S. A. R. I also had one 
sent me from New Jersey and one from tlie District of 
Columbia. 

Barly in August Miss Washington wrote me she 
met Mrs. Walworth and Miss Desha, to talk over the 
matter, at Mrs. Walworth's rooms ; that both were 
executive women, who understood such matters, and 
would be of great service. I replied: "get them to 
take not only an interest, but an office." 

• It must be clearly understood here that Miss 
Washington, Miss Desha, Mrs. Walworth and Mrs. 
Wolf were waiting to form the Wi-mo-daugh-sis 
Society ; at the same time Miss Washington and I 
were perfecting our plans for the Daughters. The 
extracts from letters of mine that Miss Desha and the 
other "pretenders" have printed, if published with 
the complete text, would show that they referred to 
this stock company of wives, mothers, daughters and 
sisters of America. Miss Washington was the person 
who took active part in both undertakings. 

To facilitate the enrollment of members in the 
District of Columbia, Miss Washington and I decided 
to have 500 application blanks for the Daughters of 
the American Revolution printed. I sent Miss Wash- 
ington the copy for the blanks. She gave the order to 
a printer, and on my arrival in the capital on October 
4, 1890, I secured the package of application blanks 
and paid $12.50 for them. I immediatel}^ took one to 
show Miss Washington. I found her much distressed 
over the sudden death of a niece. I told her every 
detail of the meeting was attended to ; that I had 
received acceptances from a number of ladies, and 
that the organization would pass off successfully. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 27 

She was present at the meeting, October nth, but, 
because of her recent bereavement, she took no active 
part in the ceremonies, beyond accepting the office of 
registrar general. 

However, since that initial meeting of a great 
organization a variety of claims have been made ; and, 
in view of the divergencies, it seems wise to give the 
views of each claimant, for they remind me of the 
Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, clothed in 
different detail, with the same climax in view. I have 
never heard that Mrs. Lockwood claimed more than 
that I asked her "to hold the position of historian 
for me during the year I should be organizing." She 
did this. The year I had the magazine I did the work 
and assumed the worry of the Official Department 
without compensation of any character. Subsequently 
I was informed that Mrs. Lockwood was made editor, 
and her daughter, manager, of the D. A. R. official mag- 
azine, for which a salary is paid of $1200 a year. This 
would be consolation, if not satisfaction. Whether the 
officers of the Daughters of the American Revolution 
now receive salary or not, I do not know; I only know for 
myself that, directly or indirectly, I have never received 
one dollar's compensation for the three societies of which 
I was founder and organizer. I paid my own expenses 
to meet the demands of the societ}^, and for the Daugh- 
ters of the American Revolution the sum of $610 out- 
side of usual expenses, which I gave for the " good of 
the cause." I received and sent $1 with every appli- 
cation blank sent to me personall}^ From the $2 dues 
paid to chapters through this source during the months 
from October 10, 1890, to June 18, 1891, 1 received $352. 
I paid out $426.40. My accounts were submitted by 
an attorney to the members of the Advisory Board 



28 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Committee — General Shields and Colonel McDonald. 
After deducting and arranging life memberships in 
New Jersey, Massacliusetts and Rliode Island, to meet 
new conditions of separated societies, they found due me 
$10.90, whicli I gave to the society through General 
Shields. I will here add I have never heard my finan- 
cial methods questioned, nor have I ever received 
thanks for the contribution, or the slightest recogni- 
tion for the service I rendered, nor did I desire it ; but, 
for this very reason, I had a business settlement made 
that would stand the test of law, reported and signed 
by Assistant Attorney-General Shields and Colonel 
Marshall McDonald, who conferred with my attorney, 
who forwarded it to me. 

General Shields in his report says : 

There was no agreement, express or implied, that Mrs. 
DarHng should be paid for her services. On the contrary, she 
has repeatedly stated that she was working for "the good of 
the cause." On June 8, 1890, she sent in a receipt, of which 
the following is a copy : 

National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. 

To Mrs. Flora Adams Darling : 

To active service attending the organization in ten States, 
from October istto June ist, with personal expenses, 
etc., etc ;^6oo 

The only compensation I ask or desire to receive is " the 
good of the cause." 

Flora Adams Darling, 

Vice-President General, 

In Charge of Organization. 

I was glad that the society accepted the gift, for in 
my opinion a founder of any society should assume 
more of the expense than any other. I was told, and 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 29 

I believe it to be true, that Dr. Webb paid to the credit 
of the S. A. R. $15,000 to secure high class organiza- 
tion to give an object lesson of the best form that 
could be offered ; and as a rule Sons were generous 
contributors. I did the best I could on my limited 
income, but those with whom I had affairs were 
most liberal when bills were rendered ; otherwise the 
expenses I incurred for the society would have reached 
three ciphers instead of two. 

That this history may not seem to repeat I will 
turn a leaf backward and now give the details of the 
initial meeting October i ith, and the meeting of Novem- 
ber II, 1890, when I announced "the society is con- 
summated." In my way I had written andlaid oulall the 
details regardless of commas and semicolons, when Mr. 
Wilson L. Gill, of Ohio, who, with Mr. McDowell, was 
active in the work of the National Society of S. 
A. R. to organize state societies, came to Washington, 
and called upon me to gain knowledge of my progress. 
He had been made acquainted with my progress through 
the letter sent in June to Dr. Webb for the S. A. R. 
papers. This was before I had ever met IVIr. McDowell. 
Mr. Gill looked over my constitution and plans, and 
gave unqualified approval. He kindly offered to 
revise the construction of the constitution, which 
he did. 

The objects of the proposed society and the basis 
of membership were printed, the proofs sent me and I 
approved them. The circulars were delivered to me 
and paid for by me. 

Mr. Gill also suggested that the order of business 
which I was to read at the first meeting be put in type 
writing ; also the list of officers who had accepted, in 
the event they could qualify. Mrs. Admiral Porter 



30 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

declined the office tendered, and was subsequently- 
elected honorary vice-president, and with her name at 
the first meeting I proposed as honorary officers Mrs. 
Gen. Grant and Mrs. Jefferson Davis ; but for some 
reason after I laid down the office of organizer their 
names seemed to die with my official death. 

I had called on each lady before the meeting, and 
each with an "if" accepted. Mrs. Walworth and Miss 
Desha, also Miss Washington, called on me. I was 
then a guest of Mrs. Lockwood's; so, of course, was 
in touch with her. She went with me to see Mrs. 
President Harrison, who said she would accept if her 
papers of admission could be secured. To make it 
absolutel}'- certain that she was eligible I told her I 
would attend to this personally, which I did before 
October nth. Dr. Goode found me the service of her 
ancestor with date and data. Dr. Scott, Mrs. Harri- 
son's father, gave me his grandfather's record in the 
" Pennsylvania Line of troops." I told Mrs. Harrison 
of her eligibility and asked her to be present. She 
said "it would be better form to remain away and be 
duly notified." I admitted this, but desired the influence 
of her presence. On the morning of October nth I 
received a message from the Executive Mansion, Mrs. 
Harrison's application paper with fee and dues, to 
assure absolute certainty of her acceptance when I 
announced her name as president general of the 
society; also a letter (which appears on pages 31 and 
32) from her niece, Mrs. Dimmick, now the wife of 
ex-President Harrison. 

Further, it was stipulated on my part to aid Mrs. 
Harrison by relieving her from the detail duties of her 
office, and immediately after the formal announcement 
of her acceptance the following resolution was decided 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 31 



EXECUTIVE " MANSION , 

WASMINCTOM. 











ImoU^ (M^ ^ <p'>H^ 



32 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Qto dJJ^ {LtLj:X^ 





FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 33 

upon ; it was also sent out by the Associated Press, and 
General Marcus J. Wright gave me the privilege of 
having my mail addressed to his residence. His 
home was near the White House. I also told Mrs. 
Harrison that a committee would be named to visit 
the Executive Mansion to acquaint her of her election. 
Mrs. Harrison and I had copies of the following reso- 
lution : 



^^fiyu-uru^ .oc^^n^ ^y^^. -7^^^^-^<^^-^^ -^E/^-^^ 




/C.■^^ 




2£_^K^, ^^^i^. 




Thus matters stood when Mr. William O. Mc- 
Dowell, with his little daughter, arrived in Washington 
on Friday afternoon. I had him hear the whole story. 
I read to him the draft of constitution, order of business, 
and asked him to preside and that Mr. Gill would act 
as secretary. This they consented to do. Mr. McDowell 
expressed a desire to make the society a gift of a 
minute book with a letter of his ancestor, Hannah 
Arnett, on the front leaf, which was accepted 
with pleasure. He, with Mr. Gill, spent Saturday 



34 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

morning in my parlor congratulating me upon my 
plans and suggesting practical ideas to develop the 
same, and not until I heard this praise of my work 
had it ever dawned on me that it was anything out of 
the ordinary ; but they readily discovered that which I 
already knew, that I could never be a presiding officer, 
unless on exceptional occasions, when everything was 
in my own hands going in ni}^ own way. 

At 2 P. M., October ii, 1890, the hour and 
descendants met, and without will of my own I was 
the centre of the occasion. I fancy all who were 
present remember the day and hour, and so long as 
the result remains it matters little who was the 
creator. 

The meeting was called to order by Mr. McDowell. 
Mr. Gill and Miss Desha were efficient aids with pen- 
cils and reports. At the proper time I gave the basis 
of work, read the order of business and announced 
officers and committees. Then a vote was taken to 
confirm my work, and the resolution acknowledging 
me founder was passed, for which I returned thanks. 

This resolution is reproduced in facsimile in the 
minutes of the first meeting, later in this chapter. It 
furnishes ocular testimony that on October 11, 1890, 
there was no opposition to my being termed founder. 
But, on the contrary, the resolution was adopted 
unanimously. 

The draft of the constitution which I had offered 
to Mr. Gill and Mr. McDowell for correction was read 
and adopted. It was ordered printed, the proof to be 
sent to me for correction. When the page proofs were 
sent to me I discovered that in Article III, Section I, 
the clause had been inserted : "or from the mother of 
such a patriot." This insertion I looked upon as ille- 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 35 

gal, and drew my pen througli it. The correction I 
indicated to be made was not made at tlie printers, and 
the constitution was printed with the collateral clause 
surreptitiously incorporated. 

Upon discovering this, I at once notified the offi- 
cers of the society that I should ignore the "mother 
of a patriot" clause; and in all constitutions I sent 
out I drew my pen through the spurious clause. 

The plan of organization submitted by me was as 
follows : 

To organize the National Daughters of the American Revo- 
lution, October i ith, the anniversary of the discovery of America 
in the following manner : In order to make the initial of this 
society in full accordance and harmony with the Sons of the 
American Revolution of the District of Columbia, to appoint 
the wives of the officers of the Sons, the president general and 
the vice-president general of the society. The offices of the 
National society are to be made as broad and comprehensive as 
possible, to embrace all sections of the country, to advance the 
influence of the Society in the several states under the direction 
of the General Society to be located in Washington, D. C. 

The objects of the society are to perpetuate the memory 
and the works of the women of Revolutionary fame ; to promote 
and encourage proper observance of days commemorating 
American historical events ; to cherish American laws and tradi- 
tions of the Republic, as stated in the Constitution. 

The objects are both patriotic and social, but specially to 
stimulate pride in birth, as being Americans and descended from 
Revolutionary ancestors. 

The officers, to be appointed the day of organization, after 
duly signing the constitution making us a society. 



S6 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Orighial Draft of the Constitution. 
Accepted at the Meeting of Oct. nth., i8go. 

Constitution 

OF THE 

Daughters of the American Revolution. 

article i. 
The name of this society shall be Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution. 

ARTICLE II. 

Objects of the Society. 

The objects of the society are to perpetuate the memory 
and the spirit of the men and women who achieved American 
Independence, by the encouragement of historical research in 
relation to the Revolution and the publication of the results, the 
preservation of documents and relics and of records of the indi- 
vidual services of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, and the 
promotion of celebrations of all patriotic anniversaries ; to carry 
out the injunction of Washington in his farewell address to the 
American people — "to promote as an object of primary impor- 
tance institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge." thus 
developing an enlightened public opinion, and affording to 
young and old such advantages as shall develop in them the 
largest capacity for performing the duties of American citizen- 
ship ; to cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of Ameri- 
can freedom ; to foster true patriotism and love of country, and 
to aid in securing for all the blessings of liberty ; to secure and 
preserve the historical spots of America, and to erect thereon 
suitable monuments to perpetuate the memories of the heroic 
deeds of the men and women who aided the Revolution and who 
created constitutional government in America. 

Any woman may be eligible for membership who is of the 
age of eighteen, and who descends from an ancestor who, with 
unfailing loyalty rendered material aid to the cause of Indepen- 
dence as a recognized patriot, as a soldier, or sailor, or as a civil 
officer in one of the several colonies or states ; provided the 
applicant shall be acceptable to the Society. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 37 

ARTICLE III. 

Section i. The officers of the National society shall be a 
President General, Vice President General at large in charge of 
organization, seven Vice Presidents General, two Secretaries 
General, two Registrars General, one Treasurer General, one 
Historian General, one Surgeon General, one Chaplain General, 
who shall be elected by ballot by a vote of a majority of the 
members at the annual meeting of the Congress of the Society; 
to hold office for one year and until their successors shall be 
elected, and who, together with the Presidents of the States 
Societies ex-officio, shall constitute a General Board of Mana- 
gers, of which seven shall constitute a quorum. 

Section 2. An Executive Committee consisting of a chair- 
man and six other members, to be appointed for the first year 
by the Vice President in charge of Organization, and subse- 
quently to be elected, by the Board of Managers, which shall in 
the interim between meetings of the Board, transact such busi- 
ness as shall be delegated to it by the Board of Managers. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Initiation Fees afid Dues. 

Section i. Until the organization of the State Societies 
the initiation fee shall be one (i) dollar ; the annual dues two (2) 
dollars ; or the payment at one time of twenty-five (25) dollars 
shall constitute a life membership, with exemption from payment 
of dues thereafter, payable to the National officers. 

Section 2. The annual dues shall be payable on the first 
day of November of each year. 

Sec. 3. After the organization of the state societies, 
each State Society shall pay annually to the Treasurer General 
twenty-five cents (25) for each active member thereof. All such 
dues shall be paid on or before the opening of the annual 
Congress of the National Society to secure representation 
therein. 



38 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

ARTICLE V. 

Meetinors and Elections. 
Section i. The annual Congress forthe election of officers 
and transaction of business shall be held on the iith day of 
October in every year. 

Section 2. Special meetings shall be called by the Presi- 
dent by order of the Board of Managers, or whenever requested 
in writing so to do by twenty-five officers or 200 members rep- 
resenting at least five State Societies, on giving thirty days' 
notice, specifying the time and place of meeting and the busi- 
ness to be transacted. 

Sec. 3. The following shall be members of all such 
general and special meetings. 

(i) All officers and ex-Presidents General and ex- Vice 
Presidents General of the National Society. 

(2) The President and the Vice President of each State 
Society. 

(3) One delegate at large from each state society. 

(4) One delegate from every one hundred members of the 
Society within a state, or a fraction of fifty and over. 

ARTICLE VL 

By-Laws. 
The Executive Committee shall have authority to adopt 
and promulgate the By-Laws of the National Society, to pre- 
scribe the duties of its officers, to provide its seal and to desig- 
nate its insignia. 

ARTICLE VII. 

Until the meeting of the first National Congress which will 
take place on the nth of October, 1 891, at lO o'clock A. M., 
in the city of Washington, D. C, the officers elected this day, 
October i ith, 1890, shall be the National officers. 

Amendments to this Constitution, submitted in writing at 
one meeting and may be acted upon at the next meeting of the 
Board of Managers. A vote of two-thirds of those present shall 
be necessary to adopt an amendment. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 39 

The first constitution and by-laws of the Daugh- 
ters of tlie American Revolution was issued by me on 
December 2, 1890. The changes it underwent at the 
bands of the Committee on Constitution from the 
original draft I gave tbem are interesting to note. 

The text in full is here given : 

Constitution 

OF THE 

National Society of the Daughters 

OF THE 

American Revolution. 

President General, 

MRS. BENJAMIN HARRISON. 

Vice Presidents General in Charge of Organization, 

MRS. FLORA ADAMS DARLING. 

2028 G St., Washington City. 

Honorary Vice Presidents General, 
MRS. JAMES K. POLK, 
MRS. THOMAS A. HENDRICKS, 
MRS. DAVID D. PORTER. 

Vice Presidents General, 
MRS. WM. D. CABELL, MRS. WM. EARLE, 

Presiding. MRS. H. V. BOYNTON, 

MRS. A. W. GREELY, MRS. F. O. ST. CLAIR, 

MRS. G. BROWN GOODE, MISS MARY DESHA. 

MRS. WM. C. WINLOCK, 

Secretaries General, 
MRS. ELLEN HARDIN WALWORTH, MISS S. P. BRECKINRIDGE 

Registrars General, 
MRS. EUGENIA WASHINGTON, MRS. A. HOWARD CLARKE. 

Treasurer General, Historian General, 

MRS. MARSHALL McDONALD. MRS. MARY S. LOCKWOOD. 

Chaplain General, Surgeon General, 

MRS. TUNIS S. HAMLIN. MISS CLARA BARTON. 

Advisory Board. 

MR. G. BROWN GOODE, Chairman, PROF. WM. C. WINLOCK, 
PROF. WM. D. CABELL, COL. MARSHALL McDONALD, MR. WM. 

o. McDowell, gen'l h. v. boynton, gen-l marcus j. 

WRIGHT, REV. EDWARD EVERETT HALE. MR. EDWIN D. 
mead, MR. WILSON L. GILL, Secretary. 



40 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

ARTICLE I. 

Name. 
The name of this Society shall be the Daughters of the 
American Revolution. 

article ii. 
Objects of the Society. 
The objects of this Society are 

(i) To perpetuate the memory and the spirit of the men 
and women who achieved American Independence, by the 
acquisition and< protection of historical spots)and the erection of 
monuments ; by the encouragement of historical research in 
relation to the Revolution and the publication of its results ; 
by the preservation of documents and relics, and of the records 
of the individual services of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, 
and by the promotion of celebrations of all patriotic anniver- 
saries. 

(2) To carry out the injunction of Washington in his fare- 
well address to the American people, "to promote, as an object 
of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of 
knowledge,"] thus developing an enlightened public opinion and 
affording to young and old such advantages as shall develop in 
them the largest capacity for performing the duties of American 
citizens. 

(3) To cherish, maintain and extend the institutions of 
American freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, 
and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. 

ARTICLE III. 

Membership and Organization. 
Section i. Any woman may be eligible for membership 
who is of the age of eighteen years, and who is descended from 
an ancestor who, with unfailing loyalty, rendered material aid to 
the cause of Indepedence as a recognized patriot, as soldier or 
sailor, or as a civil officer in one of the several Colonies or 
States, or of the United Colonies or States ; or from the mother 



V 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 41 

of such a patriot; provided that the applicant shall be acceptable 
to the Society. 

Sec. 2. After a local Board of Management shall have 
been established, all applications for membership shall be passed 
upon by the Local Board, and if the applicant shall be deemed 
satisfactory and her claims reasonable, the application shall 
receive the endorsement of the Secretary and Registrar, and be 
forwarded to the National Board of Management for final 
action. 

Sec. 3. When twelve or more members of the Society shall 
be living in one locality they may organize a Chapter. They 
may elect a presiding officer whose title will be Regent, and who 
will be delegate to the National Congress, of the Society, and a 
secretary and such other officers as may be required. 

Sec. 4. When the Chaptershall have fifty members or more 
it may elect an additional delegate to the National Congress, for 
each fifty members and fraction over twenty-five. 

Sec. 5. The officers of the National Society shall be a 
President General, Vice President General in Charge of Organi- 
zation, eight Vice Presidents General, two Secretaries General, 
two Registrars General, one Treasurer General, one Historian 
General, one Surgeon General, one Chaplain General, and such 
other officers as shall be found necessary. These officers shall 
be elected by ballot by a vote of the majority of the members 
present at the annual meeting of the Congress of the Society, and 
shall hold office for one year and until their successors shall be 
elected, and who, together with a Regent from each State chosen 
by the delegates from each State to the Congress, shall constitute 
a National Board of Managers, of which seven shall constitute a 
quorum. 

Sec. 6. A National Executive Committee of nine, of 
which the President General shall be Chairman ex-officio, shall 
be elected by the National Board of Managers, and shall, in 
the interim between the meetings of the Board, transact such 
business as shall be delegated to it by the National Board of 
Managers. 



42 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Sec. 7. The first Regent for each Chapter shall be 
appointed by the Vice President General in Charge of Organi- 
zation, who shall also designate which Regent shall be member 
of the National Board of Managers for the first year. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Initiation Fee and Dues. 

Section i. The initiation fee shall be one (;^i) dollar^ 
which must be forwarded to the National Society with the 
apphcation for membership; the annual dues two {$2) dollars; 
the payment at one time of twenty-five (^25) dollars shall 
constitute a life membership, with exemption from payment of 
dues thereafter, payable one-half to the Chapter and one-half to 
the National Society. 

Sec. 2. The annual dues shall be payable on or before 
the 22nd of February in each year, one-half of which (;^i) shall 
be forwarded to the National Society, and one-half retained for 
use by the Chapter. 

ARTICLE V. 

Meetings and Elections. 

Section i. The annual congress for the election of 
ofificers and transaction of business shall be held in Washington 
City, on the 22nd day of February, or if that be Sunday, on the 
following Wednesday, in each year. The annual meeting of 
the Chapters for the election of officers shall be on October 
I ith, or if that be on Sunday, on the following Wednesday. 

Sec. 2. Special meetings shall be called by the Board of 
Managers, or by the President General when directed so to do 
by the Board of Managers, or when requested in writing so to 
do by twenty-five or more members representing Chapters in 
at least three States, on giving thirty days' notice, specifying 
the time and place of meeting and the business to be transacted. 

Sec. 3. The following shall be members of all general or 
special meetings. 

(i) All the officers and ex- Presidents General and ex- Vice 
Presidents General of the National Society. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 45 

(2) The Regents of the Chapters. 

(3) One delegate for every fifty members of the Chapters. 

ARTICLE VI. 

By-Laws. 
The National Board of Managers shall have authority to 
adopt and promulgate the By-Laws of the National Society, to 
prescribe the duties of its officers, to provide its seal, and to 
designate its insignia. 

ARTICLE VII. 

Amendments. 
Amendments to this Constitution may be offered at any 
meeting of the Society, but shall not be acted on until the next 
meeting. A copy of every proposed amendment shall be sent 
to the Regent and Secretary of each Chapter, at least thirty 
days prior to the meeting at which it is proposed to be acted 
upon. 



By-Laws 

OF THE 

National Society of the Daughters 

OF the 

American Revolution. 

article i. 

Election of Officers. 

Nominations of officers shall be made from the floor, and 

the election shall be made by ballot. A majority shall elect. 

The nominations may be acted upon directly, or may be referred 

to a committee to examine and report. 

article ii. 
Officers. 
The duties of the general officers shall be such as usually 
appertain to their offices, and they shall have such other duties 



44 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

as are hereinafter imposed. They shall report at the annual 
meeting, and at such other times as may, by the National Board 
of Managers, be directed. 

ARTICLE III. 

President General. 
Section i. The President General, in addition to her 
general duties, shall be ex-officio Chairman of the National Board 
of Managers and of the Executive Committee, and a member 
of every other committee. 

Sec. 2, At each annual meeting she shall appoint the fol- 
lowing Standing Committees : 

Committee on Auditing, 
Committee on Finance. 
The duties of the above committees shall be such as usually 
pertain to committees of like character, and such as may be 
defined by the Board of Managers. 

article IV. 
Vice President General. 
Section i. In the absence of the President General one 
of the Vice Presidents General shall be elected to preside at the 
Annual Meeting. 

Sec. 2. In the prolonged absence or inability to act of the 
President General, the executive authority shall be vested in the 
Vice President General first in order of precedence. 

article v. 
Secretaries General. 
The Secretaries General, in addition to their general duties, 
shall have charge of the seal, give due notice of all meetings of 
the National Society or National Board of Managers, of which 
they shall be ex-officio members. They shall give due notice to 
all general officers and Chapters of all votes, orders and pro- 
ceedings affecting or appertaining to their duties. They shall 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 45 

distribute all pamphlets, circulars, rosettes and supplies as 
directed by the National Board of Managers. 



ARTICLE VI. 

Treasurer General. 

Section i. The Treasurer General shall collect and receive 
the funds and securities of the National Society. She shall 
deposit the same to the credit of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, and shall draw them thence for the use of the 
National Society as directed by it or by the National Board of 
Managers upon the order of the President General, counter- 
signed by the Secretary General. Her accounts shall be audited 
by a committee to be appointed at the Annual Meeiing. 

Sec. 2. She shall, if so required by the General Board of 
Managers or the Executive Committee, give bonds for the safe 
custody and application of the funds. 

ARTICLE VIL 

Registrars General. 

The Registrars General shall keep a register of the names 
and dates of the election, resignation or death of all members 
of the several Chapters, and shall have the care and custody of 
all applications for membership, duplicates of which, properly 
approved by the National Officers shall be retained by the 
Registrars of the Chapters. They shall issue, upon the requi- 
sition of the Secretaries or Registrars of the Chapters, certificates 
of membership and insignia to every member entitled thereto, 
through such Secretaries or Registrars. 

ARTICLE VIIL 

Historian General. 

The Historian General shall have the custody of all the 
historical and biographical collections of which the National 
Society may become possessed, and shall catalogue and arrange 



46 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

the same, and shall place the same in a fire-prcof repository for 
preservation. She shall prepare for official publication by the 
Society, historical and biographical sketches of the Revolution- 
ary ancestors of members, and of distinguished women of the 
Revolution. 

ARTICLE IX. 

Chaplain General. 

The Chaplain General sha'l conduct such services as occa- 
sions may require. 

ARTICLE X. 

Chapters. 
Every Chapter shall 

(i) Notify the Secretary General of the election and 
appointment of all officers and delegates. 

(2) Pay to the Treasurer General on or before the 22nd day 
of February the sum of one dollar for each active member 
thereof 

(3) Transmit to the Registrar General all approved applica- 
tions for membership, and notify her of the resignation or 
death of any members thereof. 

ARTICLE XI. 

General Board of Managers. 
Section i. The National Board of Managers shall prepare 
and carry out plans for promoting the objects and growth of 
the Society; shall generally superintend its interests and shall 
execute such other duties as shall be committed to it at any 
meeting of the National Society. It shall have charge of the 
printing of the Diploma and the manufacture of the Insignia, 
and shall determine the price at which the same shall be issued, 
and shall also have charge of printing all membership rolls. 

Sec. 2. It shall have power to fill any vacancy occurring 
among the general officers, and an officer so elected shall act 
until the following annual election and until her successor shall 
be elected. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 



47 



Sec. 3. The President General may call meetings of the 
National Board of Managers at any time she may deem neces- 
sary, and shall call such meeting upon the written request of 
any five members thereof, provided that not less than five days' 
notice of the time and place of such meeting shall be given. 



ARTICLE XII. 

Executive Committee. 

The President General may call a meeting of the Executive 
Committee at any time, and shall call such meeting on the 
written request of three members thereof. 



ARTICLE XIII. 

Seal. 

The seal of the Society shall be two and three-eighths of an 
inch in diameter, charged with the figure of a dame of the 
Revolutionary time sitting at her spinning wheel, the legend, 
"Daughters of the American Revolution," and the motto, 
"Home and Country." 




48 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

Certificates. 

All members of the Society, wherever admitted, shall be 
entitled to a certificate of membership duly attested by the Presi- 
dent General, Secretary General and Registrar General, coun- 
tersigned by the Regent, Secretary and Registrar of the Chap- 
ter to which such member shall belong. 



ARTICLE XV. 

Insignia. 

ARTICLE XVJ. 

Official Magazine. 

The Adams Magazine shall be the official exponent of the 
Society. 

ARTICLE XVII. 

Indebtedness. 

No debts shall be contracted on behalf of the National 
Society. Every obligation for the payment of money, except 
checks drawn against deposits, executed in the name or on 
behalf of the National Society, shall be null and void. 



ARTICLE XVIIL 

Guests. 

The wives of Sons of the American Revolution who are not 
eligible to membership may be included in all social events of 
the Society in which their husbands are invited to participate, 
and husbands of members of this Society who are not eligible 
to membership in the Society of the Sons of the American 
Revolution, may be invited to participate in such events. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 49 

ARTICLE XIX, 

Amendme?its. 
These By-Laws may be altered or amended by a vote of 
three fourths of the members present at any meeting of the 
National Board of Managers, notice thereof having been given 
at a previous meeting, the same to be subject to ratification or 
rejection by a majority of votes at the next general meeting of 
the Society. 



As the history of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution turns upon the events that transpired at 
the initial meeting I deem it proper to give in fac- 
simile the resolutions passed at the meeting. The 
original in the handwriting of the secretary of the 
meeting, Mr, Wilson L. Gill, is in my possession, 
together with the other records referred to in this 
history. 










^^^2.^:*^^^ 






50 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

When it was decided upon by Miss Desha and Mrs. 
Walworth to change the society from a lineal to a 
collateral basis they went about their work systema- 
ticall3^ 

Every paper that I had drawn up and had printed 
was changed while in the hands of the printers, and the 
"mother of a patriot" clause was inserted. The 
original blanks that were ordered printed by Miss 
Washington and which I paid for on my arrival in 
Washington contained strict eligibility requirements. 

The clause underwent the following unauthorized 
alteration : 

ANCESTOR'S SERVICE. 



I may be eligible to membeiBhip in tbe Society who is above the acre of eigbteen yeftis, and is descended ftva 
an ancestorJ who assisted in estabtishing American Independence dunng the War of tbe Revolution, either as a military or 
naval officer, a soldier or a sailor ; an official in the service of any of the thirteen original Colonies or of the united Coloines or 
States or of Vermont . a member of a Committee of Correspondence or of PnbUc Safety, or a rw:c^uiied patriot who rendered 
material service in the cause of American Independence. 



When the applicant derives eligibility of djembership by descent from more than one ancestor, and it is desired to take 
advantage thereof, the history of each of said ancestor's services and the intermediate generations of the pedigree may all be 
written upon these pages ; but it is desired that tbe history of each ancestor shall be written opon a separate blank, when possible. 

State fully such docomentary or txaditionai authority as you found the following record upon, and also the residence of 
ancestors, if known. 

My ancestor's service in assisting in the establishment of American Independence durmg the War of the 
Revolution, were as follows: 



Official stationery was furnislied tlie several 
officers. 

As vice-president general in charge of organiza- 
tion, I appointed regents tliroughont the country. 
The certificates of appointment, by which every office 
of the Daughters of the American Revolution held 
office during the initial year read as follows : 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 51 

(^#. ».„.^„„,.~-.... ^^^^/i/u^^^n,^^ 

A^ y^yi^^^^i^y^.. - - 

^^^^^<^^ 1^2^^ ^ ^ .,...,.„„„ „„™,..«r.^r.' 

^ __. '^^W«i«fJ^~^««^.^l^<»*J«y^'^>«»^^ 

The following are the important orders wliicli 
I issued at this time and wliicli went into effect by 
virtue of my powers as organizer. 

The Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Order of Business and Rules of Order shall not be deemed 
By-laws and can be changed by a vote of the regular society. 

The officers shall each perform the duties incident to their 
respective offices, which are defined in the by-laws, or the 
President with the consent of the Executive Committee may 
direct in the absence of such definition until acted upon by the 
Board of Managers. 

In the interim between annual meetings any matter ot 
moment to the society shall be presented to the Executive Com- 
mittee for action and after careful consideration, then the same 
be reported to the society and the vote shall appear on the 



52 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

minutes, and on the final vote the roll shall be called, and the 
ayes and nays be recorded. 

Members may resign if their dues are paid and they are not 
under charges of any kind. 

A member can be expelled if found undesirable from social 
status or for unbecoming conduct. In all cases charges must be 
made in writing stating specific cause of complaint. The Presi- 
dent shall appoint a committee of five to inquire into the case 
and report to the society the findings of fact signed by the 
majority of the committee, the society shall vote upon the report, 
the decision when spread upon the minutes shall be final, but if 
good cause is shown in writing indorsed by three members may 
be reopened again and decided upon in a just and equitable 
manner. 

An Attorney-General shall be retained to act for the society 
in legal matters and no other counsel shall be consulted regard- 
ing matters of the society by individual members, nor shall any 
outside business connected with other associations be presented 
before the general society without its consent by vote, nor shall 
matters of individual interest be brought in conjunction with 
affairs of the society. 

An authorized correspondent shall prepare an article for the 
press when desirable, or upon special occasions reporters and 
other correspondents may be invited to be present upon invita- 
tion of the lady who shall act in the capacity of hostess. 

The Adams Magazine, the official exponent of the society 
will devote fifteen pages each month to matters pertaining to the 
society and furnish a copy without expense to each regent as a 
medium of communication between the various chapters and the 
society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

(Signed) Flora Adams Darling, 
Vice-President General in Charge of Organization. 
December 2d, 1890. 

DUTIES OF OFFICERS. 

The Board of Managers shall be made up of officers of the 
National society and one regent from any state who has raised a 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 53 

chapter in her community ; twenty-one members in good stand- 
ing shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 

The Board of managers has power to fix the duties of 
officers not otherwise determined ; until the board is formed the 
power shall be vested in the organizing officer known as the Vice- 
President General of Organization, who shall have supervision 
over the society as provided in the Constitution. 

The Board shall appoint an invitation Committee whose 
duty shall be to find out who are eligible to membership and 
report their names and residences to the registrars who will 
present them to the Executive Committee for further action. 
Every applicant must be endorsed by a member of the society, 
to stand sponsor for the same as a desirable and worthy member. 

The application blanks shall be kept carefully by registrars, 
as quality, not quantity, is the prime object of the society. 

The " Manual of Parliamentary Practice " by Luther S. 
Cushing is recommended to be adopted as the controlling auth- 
ority in all proceedings aflfecting the general interest of the 
society. 

The Executive Committee shall be composed of officers of 
the society to examine and report upon the books of officers at 
least once in six months or as often as the President may 
direct, compare vouchers and records, see that they correspond 
with collections and disbursements and make a plain, intelligible 
statement to the society at the next regular meeting after 
examination. 

All resolutions or questions of doubt referred to them 
they shall examine carefully and report thereon at the next 
meeting after reference. 

The Auditing Committee shall examine and act upon all 
accounts referred to them, and keep regular account thereof, 
showing when presented, by whom, the amount, what for, and 
the amounts allowed by them ; they shall be ready at every 
meeting to show their books, which shall be open at all times 
for the inspection of members. 

The Finance Committee shall advise upon all disburse- 



54 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

ment of funds accruing to the society whether by gift or by 
accumulation from memberships, also report to the Board of 
managers their opinion regarding investments or outlays for 
monuments, or purchasing historical spots of special interest, 
also aid in procuring ways 'and means to build a Memorial 
Kail to the Women of America. 

The Committee on Revolutionary Relics and Documents 
shall collect all mementoes and documents of those who took 
part in the American Revolution and maintained the inde- 
pendence of America ; they shall report all gifts obtained by 
purchase or received at each general meeting and deposit the 
same with the historian of the society, to be employed in 
writing a history of the Women of the Revolution. 

The Advisory Board shall be consulted in matters of 
moment to the society, such as disbursing funds, building, or 
in other such matters as materially affect the interest or repu- 
tation of the society. The opinion of one shall not be regardeo 
as sufficient, but each shall have a right of expression and be 
duly considered, but in no way binding upon the action of 
the society. 

The Printing Committee shall order all stationery for the 
use of the society, furnish the different chapters with the same, 
supply all application blanks and superintend the publishing of 
the Constitution and all other works of the society under this 
branch and submit estimates to the Executive Committee 
through its chairman. 

The President shall preside, preserve order, sign warrants 
drawn on the treasurer for the payment of audited accounts and 
all other papers of the society, and see the officers perform 
their duty, enforce the Constitution, by-laws, and rules and 
regulations of the society, appoint all committees, not otherwise 
provided for, give the casting vote when a tie occurs, examine 
and announce all ballotings, direct the secretary to call all 
special meetings and make full report at the monthly meeting. 

The Vice-Presidents, in the order of their rank, shall per- 
form the duties of president in her absence or inability and, as 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 55 

members of the board of managers aid in the interest of the 
society through individual endeavors and so far as possible 
attend all meetings of the board of managers. 

The Secretaries General shall keep account of the proceed- 
ings of the society and board of managers ; she shall draw all 
warrants on the treasury for the payment of accounts, when 
allowed by the auditing committee, present them to the Presi- 
dent for her signature ; she shall affix the ^seal to all documents 
ordered by the society, keep the papers properly filed ready for 
inspection any time. When their term of office expires deliver 
to her successor all books and papers together with all other 
property of the society and take a detailed receipt for the same. 

The Treasurer shall receive receipts and disburse all 
moneys belonging to the society and keep regular account 
thereof. When a warrant is properly presented and signed she 
shall endorse it on which the bank will pay and not otherwise ; 
she shall make a report of the receipts and disbursements at 
every regular meetingof the society, and frequently call together 
the auditing, finance and printing committees to consult together 
upon financial matters of the society. 

The Registrars-General. The Registrar shall keep a record 
book showing the names of members, when admitted, place of 
residence and date of death ; also collect dues and keep a regu- 
lar account thereof to notify all members when three months 
in arrears, and at each meeting pay all amounts received to the 
treasurer, take her receipts and retain them as vouchers of 
settlement, and attend to all matters pertaining to membership ; 
at the end of their term to make a full report and deliver to 
their succcessors in office within one week after their term of 
office expires, with all the books and other property belonging 
to the society. 

The Chaplain-General's duties are well understood ; the 
Historian-General's well defined in the Constitution. 

The Surgeon-General. This officer shall in the event of 
public calamity imperiling members of the society hasten to 
their relief officially when called upon by the President to do so. 



56 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

She shall report the conditions to the society and be supplied 
with means to furnish rehef and be reimbursed for all expendi- 
tures incurred while engaged in affording relief, or in the event 
of war she will be at her post of duty, but it is to be hoped 
white-winged Peace will hover over the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, Our Homes and Country. 

(Signed) Flora Adams Darling 
Vice-President-Getieral in Charge of Organization of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Washington City, December 2d, 1890. 



If the records of the society have not bee 
destroyed or altered, these papers and many others of 
an official character are in evidence of my unques- 
tioned authority in the society. 

The day after the initial meeting, the Sunday 
papers approved and applauded the new society, and 
gave extended details of the founding, founder and 
friends of the work. The report of the Washington 
Post will give an idea of the reception given the 
Daughters by the press of the country. 

An organization, patriotic in purpose and which promises 
to have a large influence in promoting that sentiment, was per- 
fected yesterday in the Strathmore Arms. Amongst the names 
associated with this new enterprise, which is called the National 
Society of the American Revolution, are those with which the 
National Capital and the country are familiar. The purpose of 
the Society is stated in its first resolution to be " the securing 
and preserving of the historical spots of America, and the erec- 
tion thereon of suitable monuments to perpetuate the memories 
of the heroic deeds of the men and women who aided the 
Revolution and created constitutional government in America." 

The first undertaking in this direction by the Daughters of 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 57 

the Revolution will be the completion of the monument to the 
memory of Mary Washington, mother of Gen. Washington, and 
every American patriot is requested to send in a contribution, 
large or small, to the treasurer, Mrs. Col. Marshall McDonald, 
of Washington, D. C. The officers elected yesterday were as 
follows : 

President general — Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. 

Vice-president general at large, in charge of the organiza- 
tion, Mrs. Flora Adams Darling. 

Vice-presidents general — Mrs. Admiral D. Porter, Mrs. 
William D. Cabell, Virginia ; Mrs. Gen. A. W. Greely, U. S. 
A. ; Mrs. Dr. G. Brown Goode, Connecticut ; Mrs, William C. 
Winlock, Massachusetts ; Mrs. Gen. H. V. Boynton, Ohio ; Mrs. 
Dr. F. O. St. Clair, District of Columbia. 

Secretary generals — Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, New 
York ; Mrs. Gen. Walter Browne, Tennessee. 

Treasurer general — Mrs, Marshall McDonald, Virginia. 

Registrars general — Miss Eugenia Washington, Virginia; 
Mrs, A. Howard Clarke, Massachusetts. 

Historian general — Mrs. M. S. Lockwood, District of 
Columbia. 

Surgeon genend — Miss Clara Barton, District of Columbia. 

Cliaplain General — Mrs. Tunis S. Hamlin, District of 
Columbia. 

Executive committee — Mrs. Admiral Porter, Mrs. Flora 
Adams Darling, Mrs. William D. Cabell, Miss Mary Desha, 
chairman, and Mrs, John Randolph. 

Advisory board — Mr. W, O, McDowell, Dr, G. Brown 
Goode, Prof W. G. Winlock, Gen, Marcus J, Wright, Gen. H. 
V. Boynton, and Mr. W. L. Gill, secretary. 

The society by resolution tendered its thanks to Mr, 
William O. McDowell for his enthusiasm, which largely led to 
the creation of the organization. Flora Adams Darling was 
elected a life member for her efforts in founding the society. 
The ribbon of the badge and rosette adopted is to be red with 
white edges. 



58 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Amongst those present were the following named ladies : 
Eugenia Washington, Flora Adams Darling, Ellen Hardin 
Walworth, Mary Morris Hallowell, Aurelia Hadley Mohl, 
Houston, Texas ; Florida Punningham, South Carolina; Caro- 
line E. Ransom, Emily Lee Sherwood, Ada P. Kimberly, 
Susan Riviere Hetzel, Virginia Margaret Hetzcl, Virginia; 
Harriett Lincoln Coolidge, Boston, Mass. ; Mary V. E. Cabell, 
Virginia; Jennie D. Garrison, Mary S. Lockwood, Washington, 
D. C. ; Alice Morrow Clarke, Pauhne McDowell, Newark, N. J. ; 
Mary Desha, Gertrude Randolph, Mrs. William C. P. Breckin- 
ridge, Mrs. Clifton Breckinridge, Miss N. Preston Breckinridge, 
Miss Lucy Pickett, and Mrs. Alice Pickett Skeis. — From the 
Washington Post. 

The following letter from Miss Desha met with 
my approval : 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 59 






0ct. ir ^ ^. J/ X- A^ -^ 



6o FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 







'M^ ^^<mLu. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 6l 

Accordingly, on the following Monday, a commit- 
tee waited upon Mrs. Harrison and formally notified 
her, and received her acceptance. 

The second meeting of the society, November 
nth, was devoted to business, but the glory of the 
society was "marching on," and the concert of action 
seemed to demonstrate a remarkable object lesson of 
unity. It is true there was a variety of ideas, all 
grand and worthy of consideration ; and if at this 
period I could have given every one an office, and 
accepted every proposition and resolution offered, and 
indorsed every family tradition, there would have been 
no friction. 

Mr. McDowell had suggested to me Miss Desha's 
name as chairman of the Executive Committee, a posi- 
tion I would not hold. I had named the wife of 
Admiral Porter. She declined, and I was pleased 
that Miss Desha would take the place, and wrote her 
at once. She accepted without any form. It was my 
policy, as well as my principle, to act for the welfare 
of the society. I had placed Miss Desha's name 
with the vice-presidents, to hold her as a reserve 
force, for I recognized her executive ability, and 
wanted it utilized where it would do the most 
good. When I told Mrs. Harrison that Mrs. Porter 
could not act and Miss Desha would take the place, 
for I would not retain it, Mrs. Harrison objected. She 
placed her demurrer upon the ground that, person- 
ally, the chairman represented the president ; that she 
thought it should be a married lady with a home and 
permanent address, one of social distinction. In a 
moment I saw the point, and wondered how I had 
made such an official mistake. The wife of the chief 
executive commanded associates of such intimacy, also 



62 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

environments due lier position ; I suggested the name 
of Mrs. Wm. D. Cabell, which, was entirely agreeable, 
and immediately I sent word to Miss Desha that she 
was "decapitated for general welfare as chairman of 
the Executive Committee, but she was vice-president." 
Further, it was my desire and I expressed it to her that 
she should work with me as organizer, and my intention 
was to have her succeed me in charge of organization. 
I invited her to dine with me, and, so far as I could, 
told her my plans. I also returned to her a letter she 
had written to me criticising Miss Washington very 
severely. I felt it was written with some cause in a 
moment of impulse, therefore would not use the letter 
"as official." This episode, with the resignation of 
Mrs. Blount, who feared to be associated with those 
whom she did not know, were the only cases of official 
adjustment ; and I may here add that Mrs. Blount, 
whom I do not know personally, became a bitter 
enemy of mine. 

I proposed the appointment of a presiding general 
officer, which was approved by Mrs. Harrison and by 
Mrs. Cabell. I presented a resolution providing for 
the same, and it was passed — an action that brought 
me into close official relationship with Mrs. Cabell, and 
shows why our correspondence covered so thoroughly 
detail of events. She inspired me with confidence, 
but, alas, for expectations ! Here is the resolution : 

^'' Resolved^'X\i2X. the president general may delegate 
such of her powers and authority, except the signing 
of certificates of memberships, as she may deem best 
to Mrs. Wm. D. Cabell, who shall be known, by the 
title of presiding vice-president general." 

Mrs. Harrison issued the following order, which 
was generally promulgated through the press : 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 63 

'* I liereb}^ authorize the vice-president general, 
Mrs. Wm. D. Cabell, until further orders, to call meet- 
ings and perform such duties, except the signing of 
certificates of membership, as belong to me as vice- 
president general of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution." 

These orders, with details of the reports of the 
committee marked the occasion and gave assurance 
that all was in working order. Mrs. Lockwood pro- 
posed to me that Mrs. Blount should be made the 
presiding of&cer. Instead she was made an enemy. 

It was at this meeting I proposed a memorial 
hall "In memory of the eternal gratitude for the 
heritage bequeathed us by the Founders of the United 
States Republic ;" also to commemorate the 400th 
anniversary of the discovery of America, and by this 
action attest gratitude and progress of the western 
world. The next meeting was more of a social event, 
and Mrs. Cabell did herself honor and the society 
credit. Mrs. Harrison and myself were made special 
guests of honor. The only business of moment was 
the formality of accepting the constitution, which 
passed without question until, as it seems, someone 
declared " Miss Washington could not become a mem- 
ber unless a clause for the benefit of the Washington 
family be added." It was very late, nearly everyone 
had left, when Mrs. Cabell excitedly read an amend- 
ment offered by Miss Mary Desha, to which no one 
paid any attention, but it is said ''the mother of a 
patriot " clause was offered to please Mr. McDowell. 
I offered the following, and protested against the 
"mother of a patriot " clause, and gave my reasons. 
I stated there was no objection to an auxiliary of 
collateral branches of the family tree to strengthen the 



64 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

bonds of family alliance through fraternity, but I 
wished to keep the *' Daughters" lineal descendants 
and make their titles clear to stand the test of law ; but 
that in connection with the kin of " the Father of the 
Country," who had left no lineal descendants, an 
exception be made : 

^'' Resolved^ That the kinswomen of Washington 
who may desire to become members of the Society 
of Daughters of the American Revolution, set forth 
their claims and submit applications, to be acted upon 
by the Board of Management in an equitable manner, 
that they may secure full recognition in the society in 
memory of Washington." 

Mrs. Cabell suggested that my resolution be refer- 
red to the Committee on Constitution, of which I was 
chairman. This was agreeable to me, and a meeting 
was called at the home of Mrs. Walworth, which I 
attended. I urged that the clause of "a mother 
of a patriot " was presented for " revenue," not patriot- 
ism, and would work harm to our society that would be 
far reaching ; that a mother might have ten sons, one 
might be a patriot and nine might be Tories : yet if 
the clause should be carried it would make the descend- 
ants of the nine Tories fully as eligible to the order as 
the descendants of the patriot ; that it would create a 
condition I could never accept. 

Miss Desha and all the others present insisted 
upon the clause, and settled the matter through Mrs. 
Cabell's decision that the irregular proceeding of pass- 
ing the clause at a time and in a manner that no one 
understood made it a law. The clause from that hour 
put the society en a collateral basis. The application 
blanks show the insertion in Mrs. Cabell's writing, and 
all seem to regard me prejudiced beyond reason for not 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 65 

accepting it. / stood alone. Miss Desha won the 
victory. Still I showed the right and felt the wrong, 
and personally continued acting under the original 
blanks and constitution. Explanations are usually 
compromising, and I made none. Mr. Ward McAl- 
lister, of New York, was the first to call my official 
attention to the clause through his daughter, who was 
much interested in the work. I told her the offending 
clause would be removed when the adoption of the 
permanent constitution became a fact ; that I crossed 
out the clause, and few noticed the effect. I, however, 
realized that one cannot make up a society or manage an 
incorporation. I proposed that collaterals be known 
as founder's kin, with a badge to designate honorable 
connection ; but every proposal was rejected, and I 
found myself in a storm centre of opposition from the 
board from the date of the " mother of a patriot" clause 
which made admission to the society on collateral lines 
equally with lineal, and open to any descendant of an 
ancestor who had sons in the patriot army or the 
troops of King George. 

I have reserved the right to digress, to advance or 
retreat in setting forth the workings of the initial 
movement, and have given in one episode the cause and 
effect of the "mother of the patriot" clause, and will 
now return to the meeting of the Daughters, marking 
a most agreeable event in the annals of the society. 
The decorations were artistic, the music patriotic and 
the addresses of a high order. I was proud of the 
Daughters. 

In my address I said : " At the last meeting of 
the Daughters, through the kindness of Gen. Marcus 
J. Wright of the War Records Department of the 
United States, we were given the name, age and 



ee FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

residence of twenty-two widows of the patriots of 1776, 
also of two own daughters of Revolutionary sires, who 
are held in remembrance on the pension rolls. It was 
unanimously resolved that each be made a life member 
of our society, and that we make special effort to keep 
their record prominent and their memory green. You 
were kind enough to pass my resolution, and their 
names are enrolled. Each one was duly informed that 
she has been made a life member of the society, and 
I am requested to express appreciative thanks in their 
names for the honor conferred." 

I read the following letter from Hon. John Quincy 
Adams, my brother, regarding Israel Putnam's head- 
quarters : — 

General Israel Putnam's Headquarters. 

The State of Connecticut has made a movement which is 
gratifying to the Sons and Daughters of the American Revo- 
lution, and those interested in the preservation of Revolutionary 
relics and historic sites ; this is the restoration of the winter 
quarters occupied by General Putnam and the right wing of the 
Continental Army 1778-9. 

New York has secured and maintains the Washington 
headquarters at Newburgh. New Jersey has secured and keeps 
in good shape his headquarters at Morristown, and Pennsylvania 
is already interested in securing the headquarters of the Com- 
manding General at Valley Forge. 

No similar action has been taken so far as we know by other 
states, as it is claimed that these and all other spots of revolu- 
tionary fame should be under the control of the National Gov- 
ernment. This is an open question, and unless decided before 
long, it is possible that the Sons and Daughtersof the American 
Revolution, whose societies are rapidly spreading, may secure the 
sites in their own right and make them Meccas for patriotic 
Americans, as famous as Mount Vernon. 

It is well to guard all souvenirs of the past with care. It 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 67 

is true we have not the ruins of Europe to make our record, but 
we have mile-stones of progress to attest our advancement, and 
in this onward march we should not forget the basis of our pros- 
perity as the memories of the men who bequeathed to us the 
heritage of opportunity. 

We have in our possession a table and chair of General 
Putnam, also a sword cane of Sam Adams, carried by him when 
the watchword was given — "Midnight Approaches." These 
heirlooms are held witli care and regarded with pride — for it is a 
theory and practice of ours to keep the deeds of ancestry in con- 
stant remembrance, and to foster in the rising generation pride 
and patriotism, the animating principles of Home and Country. 

I shall be glad to give these relics to your society. 

Very truly yours, 

John Quincy Adams. 

Also a letter from Blla Loraine Dorsey, who pro- 
tested vigorously against tke "mother of a patriot" 
clause. 

Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, 

Vice-President General i?t Charge of Organization. 

Dear Madam : 

Although so recently admitted into the noble organization 
of which you are the foundress and presiding officer, I beg the 
privilege of urgently calling your attention to a point raised and 
passed at the last meeting of '^ The Daughters of the Revo- 
lution" held at Mrs. Cabell's home. Highland Terrace. 

Said point is the admission into the association, as full 
members, of the collateral relations of the heroes of the 
Revolution. 

Now, while collateral relations justly share in the lustre 
cast upon their family by the honorable deeds of one of its 
members, I cannot feel that they are entitled to the same recog- 
nition at the hands of a commemorative association, as those in 



68 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

whose veins actually flows the blood that once vitalized the 
brains and nourished the heroic hearts that conceived and 
executed those deeds, which made our republic a living fact, 
instead of a figment of the Utopian dream whose fruitless 
prophecy the world had heard for centuries. 

In this view I am supported by a large number of members 
both old and new, but they were not present on the occasion 
referred to and had not the opportunity to cast their vote for 
or against. 

This point I understand was the first amendment to the 
Constitution, which like that of the Sons of the Revolution, 
makes lineal descent an imperative condition of admission. 

Is it impossible to reconsider the matter ? Can it not be 
called up and submitted to a general vote? And if it is 
impossible to reconsider it, might not the Association be divided 
into Chapters ? 

This last suggestion would make possible what seems to 
me almost as important as the question of lineal descent — i. e., 
a special recognition of the descendants of the Signers of the 
Declaration of Independence. If so divided, these just named 
lineals would f )rm the First Chapter ; the other lineals the 
Second, and the collaterals the Third. Each one could be 
distinguished by the quartering on the badge common to all the 
association. 

Doubtless to one so experienced my suggestions seem 
crude and imperfect, but the central fact which I beg you to 
consider is so important that I can find no words strong enough 
in which to couch its claims on every member's attention. 

Think, for instance, how many of the patriots stood alone 
in their devotion to the struggling cause of liberty. Their 
fathers and brothers served the king, their very mothers — as in 
the case of Edmund Randolph, acquiesced in the casting off 
of the young heroes; and yet under this late ruling, the descend- 
ants of these Tories are to be admitted to a membership with 
the descendants of those whose pens, rifles, and swords wrenched 
and wrung liberty from tyranny, and framed a constitution that 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 69 

transmitted the precious heritage to g merations unborn — in a 
word, to lis. 

Think how their hearts swelled in the midst of battle ; think 
how firm they stood in the hours of defeat ; think how their 
blood leaped at the sound of the Liberty Bell ; and then say 
whether their children and children's children are not entitled 
to special recognition above that accorded to the far-away kin, 
who only in the light of later events have learned the full signifi- 
cance of what these men wrought in the last decades of the 
century gone. 

Dear Madam, forgive this long discussion of a matter 
already old to you, and if nothing' else can be done, at least 
make the collaterals' claims null, except in case of failure of 
issue on the part of the patriot, coupled with indisputably proven 
loyalty ou the p:u t of the brother or sister from wb.om said 
collateral descends. 

Very cordially yours, 

Ella Lorain e Dorsey. 

The secretary read letters of congratulation from 
Dr. W. S. Webb, General Carroll, Colonel Hubbard et 
«/.,Mrs. Field set fortb the work of the Mary Washing- 
ton Memorial, and the occasion closed by my present- 
ing historical relics to the society from Mrs. Eliza 
Sinclair Jones and from Mrs. Colonel Thomas C. 
English. 

I give these minor details, as they stand in 
evidence of the well founded basis on which the 
society rested as early as November, 1890, and here- 
with submit the charter list of membership made by 
Mrs. A. Howard Clark, the registrar general of the 
society, for me to take to New York, of those found 
eligible. 



70 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 







/ .^^j.' <7/Ur»^ ^d,A^^^ ll)a,,y£,^ 

4f Jh^ JL^^ ^u^M^ 

^, J^/LoM^ /f/^^y^^:^^^ ^^uz^^L-^^ 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 7" 

Charter Members 

OF THE 

Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

1 . Mrs. Flora Adams Darling. 

2. Miss Eugenia Washington. 

3. Mrs. Page Robinson. 

4. Miss Mary Desha. 

5. Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth. 

6. Mrs. William D. Cabell. 

7. Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. 

8. Mrs. Fannie Washington Finch. 

9. Elizabeth Westwood Washington. 

10. Mrs Fannie Virginia Washington. 

11. Mrs. Mary C. Ringgold. 

12. Mrs. Margaretta Jack Hetzel. 
15. Miss Susan R. Hetzel. 

14. EHzabeth Lee Washington. 

15. Fannie Washington Reading. 

16. Mrs. Alice Morrow Clarke (Mrs. A. Howard Clarke). 

17. Mary Loomis Stowe. 

18. Anna P. Stowe. 

19. Henrietta Nesmith Greely (Mrs. General Greely). 

20. Mrs. Mary Morris Hallowell. 

21. 

22. Sarah Judd Goode (Mrs. G. Brown Goode). 

23. Fannie Washington Hunter Weeks. 

24. Mrs. Lucia E. Blount. 

25. Mary E. MacDonald (Mrs. Marshall MacDonald). 

26. Mrs. Hannah McD. Wolff. 

27. Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood. 

28. Helen Mason Boynton (Mrs. General H. V. Boynton). 

29. Mrs. Mary Morris Husband. 

30. Mrs. Pella Hull Mason. 

31. Elizabeth J. Maclay Candee. 

32. Mrs. Dora T. Voorhis. 

33. Mary Granger Leland. 



72 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

34. Mary L. Shields, 

35. Mrs. Lelie Dent St. Clair (Mrs. F. O. St. Clair). 

36. Maria Devereux. 

37. Agnes J. Robinson. 

38. Lena A. Rathbun (Mrs. Richard Rathbun). 

39. Elizabeth C. Clark (Mrs. Appleton Prentice Clark). 

40. Mrs. Adelaide Haines Cilley Waldorn. 

41. Lilian Slaymaker Evans. 

42. Mary E. Weeks. 

43. Mrs. Delia C. Buckner. 

44. Janie Abigail Adams Everett (Mrs. DeVolney 

Everett). 

45. Sarah Adams Smith (Mrs. Le Roy Sunderland 

Smith). 

46. Julia Adams Jones (Mrs. William Jones). 

47. Harriet Adams Guild (Mrs. George M. Guild). 

48. Beatrice Gay Klingle Darling (Mrs. Edward L 

Darling). 

49. Miss Louise Adams Guild. 

50. Kate Mason Rowland. 

51. Mary S. Gist. 

52. Miss Carohne L. Ransom. 

53. Mary Henderson Eastman. 

54. Mrs. Elizabeth Sinclair Jones. 

55. Mrs. Lucy Bronson Dudley. 

56. Anna Hanson Dorsey. 

57. Ella Loraine Dorsey. 

58. Elvira D. Cabell. 

59. Mrs. Margaret Hetzel Pendleton. 

60. Emily Lee Sherwood. 

61. Anna R. Green. 

62. Florence Labouisse Adams. 

63. Mrs. Emma Henry Young. 

64. Seda Gano Browne (Mrs. W. Ross Browne). 

65. Mrs. Julia Smiley Goodfellow. 

66. Mrs. Sarah E. Coulter. 

67. Mrs. Ann Forrest Green. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 73 

I do not know the process by which Mrs. Clark 
allotted numbers. But I do know that the papers of my 
immediate family were received by me during June and 
July, and were all examined and passed as qualified 
before I left Culpepper, Va., October 4, 1890. I gave the 
papers to Miss Washington as registrar, and told her 
that I desired the names of my family to follow those 
of her own, out of respect of the name of Washington. 

Miss Washington and the other ladies of the society 
knew the following list to be my original roster, com- 
posed of members of my family : 

Mrs. George M. Guild ; Mrs. Le Roy Sunderland 
Smith ; Mrs. William Henry Jones ; Mrs. DeVolney 
Everett ; Miss Louise Adams Guild ; Miss Florence L. 
Adams ; Mrs. Edward Irving Darling ; Mrs. Horace T. 
Adams ; Mrs. Victoria Adams Barber ; Mrs. Stephen 
Adams Webster and Mrs. Isabelle Adams Furman. 

The eligibility of every one of these ladies was 
questioned when I resigned from ofiice. They were 
said not to be eligible, on the same grounds that I was 
declared, "the descendant of a Tory." Each one of 
this list of names was submitted to Star Chamber con- 
sideration. And each one was found to be fully 
qualified. The original numbers which belonged to 
them, however, were never restored. 

The name of Mrs. Ballinger, who is put down as 
68, should have been among the first thirteen, for I 
received her paper in person at Culpepper, in June 
1890. There was no reason for her name to be placed on 
the "waiting list ", other than that she was one of the 
number of ladies whom I had secured, and her name 
was sent in at the same time that my sister's papers 
were filed. She was mistaken for a relative of mine 
and was made to suffer the penalty. 



CHAPTER II. 

A HOPE REALIZED. 

nPHH following is an account of the first meeting of 
■^ the Daughters of the American Revolution, which 
appeared in Adams' Magazine for January, 1891 : 

October nth, 1890, a distinguished party of ladies met at 
the Strathmore Arms, Washington City, in response to an invi- 
tation from Mrs. Flora Adams Darling for the purpose of organ- 
izing a society to be known by the title Daughters of the 
American Revolution. Among the number were descendants 
of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Ethan Allen, Pick- 
ens, Randolph, Lee, Rust, Chase, Green, Morris, Perry, and other 
brave men who won liberty and independence for America. 

The objects of the society were explained, and officers and 
an executive committee were appointed. 

The following month a meeting was held at the residence 
of Mrs. Cabell, presiding vice-president. The spacious parlors 
were brilliantly lighted and a portrait of Washington over the 
mantel was draped with the American flag. One of the most 
pleasing incidents connected with the meeting was the presence 
of Mrs. Harrison, President General of the society. Mrs. Har- 
rison's Revolutionary claims for distinction are with the strongest 
of those claiming membership, and it is a pleasure to add that 
every other application for recognition was very interesting as 
well as fully authenticated. 

The meeting was opened with prayer by Mrs. Tunis S. 
Hamlin. Mrs. Walworth then read the Constitution and By- 
Laws. Miss Washington moved that they be adopted, the 
motion was seconded by Mrs. A. Howard Clarke and unani- 
mously ratified. 

Mrs. Flora Adams Darling announced the election of Mrs. 
James K. Polk, Mrs. Thomas A. Hendricks, and Mrs. David D. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 75 

Porter as honorary vice-presidents of the society. She then 
made the following remarks : " I wish to express my thanks to 
the Advisory Board, all Sons of the American Revolution, for 
the aid and kindness shown me in organizing this societ}', also 
to congratulate the Daughters upon tlie completion of the same, 
and trust it will be the pleasure of all officers and members of 
our society to be jealous of its dignity and to keep 'the soft as 
silk, but strong as steel ' bond that unites us in fraternity anch- 
ored to patriotism, the safety of our organization. We want 
disinterested confidence in each other and a union of the whole 
to make our example such that posterity 'shall rise up and call 
us blessed.' To-day we have launched our ship with every 
hope of success. We have adopted a chart we can rely upon 
to guide us into smooth waters. We know the material we 
have used is genuine, and since we have biiilded so well, it 
is a pleasure to announce the fact and acknowledge my satis- 
faction."' 

Before I take up the work of organization in other 
States, it seems desirable to here insert that part of 
the work pertaining to the society in Washington, also 
the progress made in interesting New Yorkers. Some 
of the letters may look forward, others backward, but 
all tell of interest in the work, and that each and all 
were doing everj^thing in their power to promote the 
object and aims of the society. 

From among several thousand letters I present a 
few to show the scope of my work and the high class 
of representative people interested in it. Every letter 
that came to me contained expressions of appreciation 
and good cheer. I present those which exhibit the 
different sections of the country that were simulta- 
neously stirred into patriotic activit3^ 

These letters show that there was no prejudice, 
no partisanship engendered b}^ sectional affinities ; 



^6 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

but with all, so far as could be judged, an honest 
hearted desire to prove that the so-called society of 
" aristocratic tendencies " had reached an era to demon- 
strate that we had risen in our right to rid ourselves 
cf the changeful, chaotic conditions of society, by 
erecting a basis upon American principles and pride, 
to unite each section of our republic ; that our tradi- 
tions and treasures justified the movement, also made 
it important that breadth of generosity and sweet 
charity, "one toward the other," should characterize 
our work. As Mrs. Frank Leslie wrote me so did 
many others, but Mrs. Leslie's opinion left a marked 
impression, and it sounded a key-note to a prophecy 
fulfilled. 

She wrote : " We cannot 1 expect the calm serenity of 
monarchies, which for a thousand years have been 
crystallizing and conserving all the treasures of civil- 
ized time. Society, with us, is not, cannot be, the 
quiet growth of changeless aristocratic customs and 
unwritten law of the old world. I am not saying the 
fixed facts over there are more desirable than the 
rapid growth over here ; but I do say each condition 
has its merits and demerits, and so long as we cannot 
attain to the grandeur of Versailles or Buckingham 
Palace, or tread our own halls with the consciousness 
that twenty generations of noble ancestors have trod 
them before us, let us not make haste to tack to our 
new robes the facts of prejudice, nervousness, short- 
sightedness and contemptuous intolerance that are the 
defects of the virtues of hereditary aristocracy. We 
Americans stand before the world an object lesson of 
the ages. A great people, a great country, unlimited 
opportunities, holding the inheritance of courage and 
self-respect, which led our ancestors from all the cer- 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. jj 

tainties of civilization to the unknown hazards of a 
savage land, let us not throw away the independence 
they so dearly bought, let us have the courage of our 
convictions, and let us build up not only our social, 
but our political, our moral, our educational, systems, 
upon the broadest benevolence of true human brother- 
hood, of honest respect for labor and the laborer, and 
of Christian law and order. 

" Can your society do this ? If so you have not 
builded in vain. But do not expect too much." 



Washington, D. C, April 2, i8gi. 
Received of Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, Vice President General 
D. A. R. in charge of Organization : 

March 30, 1891. Forty Applications New York Chapter, 
also ^25.50 as Initiation Fees. 

April I, 1891. Twenty-two Applications with the sum of 
$32.50 as fees. 

Total number of applications received 62. Whole amount 
of money received ;^58.oo. 

Mrs. A. Howard Clarke, 

Registrar General D. A. R. 



Washington, April 2, 'p/. 
My dear Mrs. Darling — 

Thanks for your interesting letter of the first of the week. 
I enclose a receipt for the Applications and money. I will 
verify as many of the Applications as possible before your 
meeting — at any rate you will have twelve. Do not worry 
about it. I find them in excellent condition — well filled out 
with plenty of authority etc. so that it will be a pleasure to 
work on them. Wish th;.t I might say that upon all papers 
that are sent into the society. 

Excellent work is being done in Chicago, all the officers 
are appointed and great interest is being taken in the Society 
by the Representative women of that city. 



78 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

I am glad that so much interest is being shown in Massa- 
chusetts — but am not a bit surpiised — for there is so much 
Revolutionary as well as Pilgrim stock to be found there. I 
think that Mrs. Durand would make a very popular regent — 
and all New England women are workers. 
Most sincerely yours, 

(Mrs. A. H.) Alice M. Clarke. 



To the Vice President General in charge of organization ol the 

Daughters of the American Revolution : 
Madame : 

Accept my thanks for your courtesy in addresing to me in 
an official form your views in regard to the action of the Execu- 
tive Committee to which, in virtue of your appointment, I 
have the honor to belong. Permit me to reply to your letter, 
point by point, and to request that, if you conclude to 
put on record your views and your protest, you will be good 
enough to file with your own paper my response as Chairman 
of the Executive Committee. 

The Eligibility Clause. In reference to this most important 
feature of our organization as embodied in the Constitution, I 
do not quite understand your position. I am aware that you 
ably and consistently advocated the requirements of a lineal 
descent from the patriots of i 'J']^, and, after differing from you 
quite decidedly upon that point, I came over unreservedly 
to your opinion and was instrumental in the final alteration of 
the constitution, enforcing your views. That constitution was 
submitted to you for final consideration — quite urgently, you 
will remember by myself; it was in the hands of the Secretary- 
General, Mrs. Walworth, long enough for her to familiarize 
herself with every word and every shade of meaning before 
reading it to the Society ; she wrote me an expression of her 
thanks for giving her the opportunity. 

The constitution was read to the Society by the person 
appointed by yourself and in the m.anner requested by yourself. 
I will refer you in this connection to your letter of Nov. iith 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 79 

in response to mine suggesting the possibility of subsequent 
dissatisfaction; you wrote me: " As the constitution has been 
twice read in Executive Meeting, section by section, and before 
Prof. Goode and Mr. Gill of the Advisory Board and afterwards 
submitted to you, I think it is superfluous and a waste of 
valuable time to spend an hour reading it by sections. Read 
and Adopt, is the proper order of exercise." Under these 
instructions the constitution was read, put to the vote and 
accepted without challenge. My astonishment was great when 
late in the evening, after a large portion of the Society had dis- 
persed, I was informed by yourself and Dr. Goode that a great 
mistake had been made and that it was necessary to avail our- 
selves of the quorum present and reconsider the eligibility 
clause. Dr. Goode's remark to me I perfectly recall. " You 
have dropped," he said, "about half your members." Our 
action on that occasion appeared to me hasty and ill-considered, 
but as I did not feel fully informed as to the reasons for making 
the change proposed, and as I was in no wise in charge of the 
work of organization, I did not feel justified in making a protest. 
I make no protest now — I acquiesce as I did then, at each point 
in your decision — but, if your protest is to be put on record, 
I consider myself entitled, as presiding officer on the occasion, 
to have my written statement accompany yours. 

With an assurance of my highest esteem and respect for 
your important office, and of my most cordial personal regard, 
believe me, Sincerely and respectfully yours, 

M. V.E. Cabell, 

Presiding Vice Presidcfit General. 



40 W. sgth St., New York. 

Feb. 15th. 
My dear Mrs. Darling : 

Please allow me to thank you for your very kind letter of 
the I ith, and also the Society for having so kindly elected me 
a member. 

Very truly yours, 

Gertrude J. C. Hamilton. 



8o FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

jp Collins St., Hartford, 

Feb. 1 8th, 1891. 
My dear Madam : 

To their daughters as well as to their sons, our noble sires 
committed the memories of their gallant deeds, and their glor- 
ious example. What children learn at their mother's knee, 
they generally remember thro' life, and such memories of their 
ancestors will prove incentives to emulate the glorious deeds of 
their forefathers, related to them by the motheis who urge them 
to strive to follow the footsteps of those gone before in the 
the path of honor and patriotism. 

I most warmly and gratefully appreciate the honor con- 
ferred by the National Society upon myself, and rejoice that 
the patriotism of my ancestors is still remembered, and with 
pride and thanks I accept with pleasure the position tendered 
to me. Elizabeth Rodgers Smith. 



My dear Mrs. Darling : 

Your favors with the very flattering information that I was 
elected an "Honorary Life Member" of the Daughters of the 
Revolution did not reach me until yesterday, owing I presume 
to the fact that it was mailed with no other address than "New 
York City." I am very grateful for your kind and appreciative 
words embodied in the" Resolution," which more than rewards 
me for my long service in the realms of history. You have done 
me a great honor in thus recognizing my life work, for which 
you have my warmest thanks. 

It will be some Httle time before I can have access to my 

papers which are packed away, and thus be able to fill out the 

blank with my revolutionary genealogy, but I will do so as soon 

as convenient, and on recovering from my illness which has 

been aggravated by a severe cold, and hope soon to be quite 

well again. 

Yours very sincerely, 

Martha J. Lamb. 
March 2, 1891. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 8i 

i8j Ninth Street, Milwaukee, 

Feb. 1 8th, 1891. 
Mrs. Darling, 

My dear Madam : It is with pleasure I accept the honor 
that the Daughters of the American Revolution have had the 
kindness to confer on me by appointing me Honorary Regent 
for Wisconsin. I have read with interest of the association. 

Sincerely yours, 

Harriet D. Mitchell. 



University Park, 
Washington, Apr. 15th, '91. 
Dear Mrs. Darling : 

Your kind letter and appointment was received this morn- 
ing. I am very much obliged for the compliment and will 
accept, and do the very best I know how for the good of the 
Society. I am expecting to leave for Evansville the 28th of 
this month, and I will see if we cannot have a " live " chapter 
there in a very short time. I have written to the first woman 
in the city, socially, and every other way— and if she is eligible 
to membership, she would make a splendid Vice Regent. 

I do not understand as much as I ought about the rights 
and duties of the position you have appointed me to, but doubt- 
less I can learn from some of the officers here. 

I shall certainly feel less embarrassment in attending the 
meetings of the Board, than I have in the past, some how I felt 
that I had no right there— altho' I always received a notice to 
attend as one of the executive committee who had no duties but 
to listen to what the others had to say. What are the duties of 
the Honorary Regents? and how many Regents like myself 
will there be in Indiana this year— and what must I do with 
regard to them ? If not too much trouble and too great a tres- 
pass upon your time, I would like a few hints as to what you 

think I ought to do. 

Cordially yours, 

Lucia E. Blount. 



82 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

20^ West Franklin Street, 

March 30th, 1891. 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling : 

The certificate notifying me of my having been appointed 
by the " National Society of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution" as "Regent" for Richmond, in the state of Vir- 
ginia has been received. 

I write to say that I shall be very glad to accept the 
appointment, and shall hope soon to be successful in forming a 
chapter. 

Very truly yours, 

Margaret Jules Read. 



Mrs. Matthew H. Carpenter acknowledges Mrs. Darlings 
letter, and is very much gratified by the honor paid her by the 
Daughters of the American Revolution in making her Honorary 
Regent for the State of Wisconsin — a position she accepts with 
many thanks. 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
February i8th, 1891. 



Lanier Place, Capitol Hill. 

Mar. 1 6th, 1890. 
My dear Mrs. Darling : 

I have received your very kind note, announcing the 
co-operation of the Washington Monument Association and the 
Daughters of the American Revolution, and I will take pleasure 
in laying your proposition before the Ladies at our next meet- 
ing. Many of these, I am sure, are eligible for membership 
with you, and the sentiments which inspire the organization of 
the two societies are so nearly allied, that a union would seem 
desirable. 

Being myself a descendant of a soldier of the Revolution, 
I heartily sympathise with the Daughters, and I shall feel hon- 
ored in taking any position which shall promote their cause. 
Very truly yours, 

Virgiana Field. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 83 

J J West Fiftieth Street. 

March 19th, 1891. 
My dear Mrs. Darling : 

I have received your note of Marth 9th, and thank you for 
the comphment you have tendered me in appointing me one of 
the Board of Managers of the New York Chapter of the " Daugh- 
ters of the American Revolution." 

I accept the position with pleasure, and hope to be in town 
to attend the meeting on Monday, March 23d. 
Sincerely yours, 

Ellen Hall Crosman. 



Plainfield, New Jersey. 

May 7th, 1 89 1. 
Madam : 

I accept with pleasure the appointment of Vice Regent of 
the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Very respectfully yours, 

Julia Lawrence Burnett. 



My dear Mrs. Darling : 

I have received your esteemed favor of the 4th inst. 
While I have a very high appreciation of the honor the society 
does me in making me an Honorary Regent, I hesitate about 
accepting not liking to "sail under false colors." 

My maternal ancestors were Friends or Quakers, and 
though patriots, I trust, were of course non-combatants. My 
paternal ancestors were patriots and soldiers, but not particu- 
lirly distinguished, that I know now of 

If I may be allowed to suggest the name of one who will 
be a good representative for northern Ohio, I would mention 
Mrs. Mark Hanna of Cleveland, Ohio. 

Wishing the society the utmost success in all its beneficent 

purposes, I am, 

Very cordially yours, 

Cecilia Stewart Sherman. 



84 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Frankfort. 
Nov. 1 6th, 1890. 
My dear Mrs. Darling : 

The position as Vice President for Kentucky I accept with 
pleasure and will do all I can to aid in erecting the monument 
to Mary Washington, in which I would naturally be interested, 
as she was my great, great, great grandmother. 

Very sincerely, 

Delia Claiborne Buckner. 



I J 28 I Street. 
My dear Mrs. Darling : 

The distinguished compliment that you offer me in the 
appointment as Honorary Regent of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution I am most honored in receiving, and 
happy to accept. 

Believe me, dear madam. 

Faithfully yours, 

Martha Lilley Bontar Cilley. 



CHAPTER III. 

BIRTH OF THE SOCIETY IN NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 

22, 1891. 

T LEFT Washington for New York City, December 23, 
* 1890, and the Everett House gave me its hospital- 
it3\ During the period of organization in Washington, 
the constitution and the work of securing local charter 
members and verifying papers had occupied much of 
my time. I was, however, in correspondence with the 
original thirteen states — mostly through librarians — 
to aid in researches, and the response was highly sat- 
isfactory. I laid out my plans to the ladies of the 
board in Washington and went forth to work. Still, 
all who knew me knew that I did not like the posi- 
tion I had so unwisely undertaken to fill until some 
other could and would take the place. I, how- 
ever, consented to do my best for the society until 
October 11, 1891. At that date I promised to return 
to aid in securing a national incorporation from Con- 
gress. A circular issued in 1891, setting forth the 
National Council of History, met with general favor. 
It was in part as follows : 

The Historic Council of the General Society is made up 
of thirteen eminent historians who act as supervisors of State 
Historians, who shall arrange the histories, traditions and bio- 
graphical sketches of eminent men and women of their several 
States, who have won historic renown. To the Historian-Gen- 
erals all matters shall be referred for acceptance. Each mem- 
ber of State Societies shall write out the history of the family 
and all other historical particulars that may be of interest and 
reference for future generations. A member presenting her 



86 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

genealogical statement with the Secretary-General shall pay 
^ lO.oo before filing, to be deposited in bank as a " Historic Fund," 
to aid publications. The memoirs shall be published and bound 
in uniform style with steel plate of ancestors and intermediate 
descendants of the Founders of the Family. 

From December 1890, until June 1891, my mail 
averaged fifty letters a day, and they were as wel- 
come as June roses. My secretary, Miss Florence 
Labouisse Adams, aided me, but it was my rule to 
answer " letters of importance," as thousands of let- 
ters over my signature will attest, and every one sent 
out seemed to invite another in return — an occupation 
tbat involved consideration for detail of state work, 
wbicb was tlie demand. The following, wbicli was put 
in circular form from tbe New York World formed the 
basis of most of the articles sent broadcast. 

Mrs. Darling has demonstrated that nothing is so prolific as 
an idea. We have seen one evolve under her guiding hand into 
an irresistible force — until a creation has resulted that has 
electrified New York — whether it is the magnetism of the crea- 
tor, or the inspiration of patriotism from a new point of view — 
the society has aroused a tidal wave of enthusiasm that is sweep- 
ing over the country entirely new in scope and far reaching in 
influence. Mrs. Darling explained to the press yesterday the 
origin, object, aims and purposes, of the Society. She won us all, 
and we were all there. She said, "From the hour we organ- 
ized in Washington, Oct. II, 1890, the work was famous, and 
the influence created and the work accomplished seems incred- 
ible, but each one of the founding members was interested 
and anxious to carry out the design that had been offered. 
Much of the work is centered in me. Not that I am more 
able than my associates, but I know what I want, and how to 
secure it and for the initial year much is left to my discretion. 
Whether this be right or wrong may be an open question, but 
I have discovered when I can please myself I please a large 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 87 

constituency, and from my point of view — one well equipped 
guide can find the path of success quicker than many who 
from want of knowledge more than zeal frequently prove blind 
guides — be this as it may it seemed wise to keep the idea close 
in hand in order to make sure the design would be carried out." 
Mrs. Darling closed by saying frankly : " It has been said that 
my individuality will stamp the organization indelibly as ' One 
Woman Power.' I admit the criticism for I believe for the first 
year appointments are more desirable than so-called elections. 
My plan is to select and secure the consent of a representative 
woman in each state with the consent of her husband, to whom I 
first write to secure his co-operation and approval — then I tender 
the position as an assured fact, for in this era, and with the 
ladies whom I desire to take up the work few would be wiUingto 
enter the arena of contest. My common sense told me an elec- 
tion by voice or vote with uncertainty attending the result would 
complicate affairs and perhaps compromise proposed officials. 
We are not in a beaten path with official precedent. We are mak- 
ing history on new lines — but in a direction I have given much 
thought to and am now a pioneer — if I succeed honors will be 
divided — if I fail full credit will be given to me. The Board of 
Managers are in full accord with me and I am sure of the con- 
firmation of all officers whom I appoint." 

The New York Chapter of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution was formed at a meeting at 
Sherry's, February 23, 1891. The New York Herald 
said of it : 

Mrs. Darling was introduced, and having been requested 
by a number of ladies to tell of the history of the founding of 
the Society, she called on her niece, Miss Florence Labouisse 
Adams, to read for her her account of the same written for the 
January number of the Adams' Magazine. She then read for 
the purpose of announcing, to the members assembled, the 
appointment of Regents, the following letter which was to be 
forwarded to the President-General, that she might make the 



88 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

same announcement in the National meeting in Washington the 
evening of the same day : 

New York, February 23, 1891. 
To the President- General of the Society of the Daughters of the 

American Revolution : 

I herewith submit the names of the ladies selected as hon- 
orary Regents of our society, who have accepted the honor con- 
ferred. In this selection of Daughters we find the blood of the 
most distinguished men of Revolutionary fame. The entire 
list is not yet completed, but will be with equally as honored 
names before our next meeting. 

Honorary Regents of the United States of America : 

Maine — Mrs. Hannibal Hamlin. 

New Hampshire — Mrs. General Stark and Mrs. General 
Cilley. 

Vermont — Mrs. Redfield Proctor and Mrs. Edward J. 
Phelps. 

Massachusetts — Mrs. John Quincy Adams and Mrs. Mary 
S. Hemmenway. 

Rhode Island — Mrs. WiUiam Ames and Mrs. William R. 
Talbott. 

Connecticut — Mrs. Elizabeth Rogers Smith. 

New York — Mrs. Schuyler Hamilton and Mrs. Philip 
Livingston. 

New Jersey — Mrs. Alexander McGill and Mrs. Edwin A. 
Stevens. 

Pennsylvania — Mrs. Jeremiah S. Black and Mrs. Lilly 
McAllister Laughton, Regent of Mt. Vernon. 

Maryland — Mrs. General Bradley T. Johnson and Miss 
Emily Harper. 

Virginia — Mrs. Wilham Wirt Henry. 

South Carolina — Mrs. Governor Richardson. 

Georgia — Mrs. Martha Berrian Duncan. 

Kentucky — Mrs. General William Preston and Mrs. Gov- 
ernor Buckner. 

Tennessee — Mrs. Ex-Governor John C. Brown. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 89 

Ohio — Mrs. John Sherman and Mrs. Allan Thurman. 

Illinois — Mrs. John A. Logan and Mrs. Potter Palmer. 

Wisconsin — Mrs. Matthew H. Carpenter and Mrs. John 
Mitchell. 

Texas — Mrs. ex-Governor Throckmorton and Mrs. Aurelia 
Hadley Mohl. 

Florida — Mrs. Governor Fleming. 

California — Mrs. Colonel Hubbard, whose husband is the 
original founder of the Sons of the American Revolution, 

I submit also a list of .society and chapter regents, who 
have been appointed and are organizing chapters. There are 
now over one hundred prominent ladies who are recommended 
for regents, who will receive appointments as soon as possible. 

Regents of societies who have united with us as Daughters 
of the American Revolution, with the same objects in view : 

Mrs. Justice Field, the Washington Monument Society ; 
Mrs. Lily McAllister Laughton ; Mrs. Joseph E. Washington, 
and Mrs. Stanley Matthews. 

Chapter Regents — 

Miss Page Robinson and Mrs. ex-Governor Letcher, Vir- 
ginia; Mesdames J. Q. Marshall and Felix de Fontaine, South 
Carolina ; Mesdames N. B. Hogg, Jordon, W. A. McCartney, 
Chauncey F. Black, Miss Mary T. Elder, Pennsylvania; Marie 
Green Devereux, District of Columbia ; Mesdames Avery 
McElroy, Ohio ; Wilbourn and Fielding Lewis Williams, Rhode 
Island ; A. Cilley Waldron, New Hampshire ; T. A. Washington, 
Robert W. Lowe, Texas ; Miss Julia Berrian Neely, Miss Mary 
Washington, Miss Louise King Connelly, Georgia ; Frank 
Steward Osborne, Illinois ; R. J. Lackland, and Miss Marj' Fogg, 
Missouri ; Mrs. J. W. Greer, of Culpeper, Virginia. 

Mrs. Mary S. Nicholas Tiernan, widow of Hon. Charles 
Tiernan, appointed regent for the city of Baltimore, died Jan- 
uary 14, 1 89 1. In her death the Society has lost a distin- 
guished daughter. Cordially, 

Flora Adams Darling, 
Vice-President Ge?teral in Charge of Ors^anization. 



po FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

After the reading of this letter, on motion of Mrs. J. Heron 
Crosman, the following resolution was adopted : 

^'Resolved, That the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion, in this, their first meeting of the New York Chapter, desire 
to express to the Daughters who will assemble this evening for 
their first yearly meeting in Washington, and to the Sons of 
the American Revolution, who will meet with them, their greet- 
ings and assurance of co-operation in whatever they undertake 
for the love of our homes and of our common country, and 
appoint as our envoy to convey our greetings, the Secretary of 
the Advisory Board." 

Mrs. Felix de Fontaine, one of the regents for South 
Carolina, who divides her residence between her native State 
and New York, read an interesting and graceful address in 
behalf of the Southern Daughters. 

The second meeting of the New York Chapter 
was reported in the April number of the Adams' 
Magazine, as follows : 

Mrs. Roger A. Pryor read the Constitution, which was 
then signed by the ladies, though on account of the late hour 
many deferred signing until a subsequent day. 

About one hundred ladies met at Sherry's Assembly 
Rooms at eleven o'clock, March 23, 1891. Mrs. Darling pre- 
sided, about her were seated Mrs. Wm. D. Cabell, of Washing- 
ton, presiding Vice-president-General, Mrs. Alexander McGill, 
Regent for New Jersey, Mrs. Furman, great grand-daughter of 
John Adams, Mrs. Felix de Fontaine, Mrs. John S. Wise and 
Mrs. Roger A. Pryor. Flowers of great beauty, a compliment 
of one of the ladies to the founder of the Society, adorned the 
table. Mrs. Darling, when she called the meeting to order, 
made the following address : 

" It is my earnest desire to see the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution founded upon broad and comprehensive princi- 
ples, free from the prejudice and malice so often actuating 
societies. If we pose as representative people our example 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 91 

should bear as close a challenge as do our papers for member- 
ship. In view of the magnitude and possibilities of this Society, 
we must strengthen the basis by absolute facts, a process 
requiring tact and time. We all realize New York is a great 
center, and this Chapter an object lesson, hence a model should 
be our individual and collective aim, and to accomplish this 
desired result great care must be observed in the selection of 
officers and members. This society cannot be judged by others, 
or its management be confounded with club rules or regulations. 
Ours is a society of heritage, beyond commercial value, open 
alike to rich or poor, who are endowed with Revolutionary 
ancestry. We know assertive claims are quickly made, but 
proof is often wanting, but we want justice weighed with equal 
measure to all aspirants. We do not seek to rob the rich or 
poor of their birthright, we wish to establish it by fact, not 
fiction. We stand firm as a rock upon the required proof of 
lineage from one of the patriots, and when this is proven we 
are content. 

" In Washington, an advisory board of nine gentlemen was 
appointed, and recently the Society has elected an Attorney- 
General to advise and protect the dignity and integrity of the 
the organization. The same demand exists here. Up to date I 
have received applicants, and with pride present each name to 
the Board of Management for final action, but the Charter will 
soon close, then all applicants must be recommended by some 
member of the Society as well as the regent ; the application 
must be indorsed by the local board, then sent to the general 
board, where final action is taken and the applicant enrolled a 
Daughter of the American Revolution. But even this is n 3t 
adequate ; to keep the Society true to her claims, a committee 
on credentials, to make inquiry into claims before they are pre- 
sented to the Society, is a necessity, and any applicant recom- 
mended by this committee will bear a stamp as genuine. 
Three gentlemen of the highest standing in this con munity, 
also two ladies equally as assured in blood and status will 
accept this trust. I need aid of this character, then like 



92 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Christian the burden will be removed from my shoulders. It 
may be claimed by using this caution that we wish to establish 
an American aristocracy — but if wishing to honor those who 
made the American Republic possible, to stimulate an interest 
in the deeds and history of patriots is establishing aristocratic 
tendencies, I plead guilty to the charge and am proud of my 
allies. 

" It has been charged that American women are more 
interested in European institutions than in their own. We want 
to show such a charge, as without foundation. We can show the 
world we are not only interested but proud of our ancestors and 
their achievements. There is one thing we wish distinctly 
understood, and that is we are in no sense a parti.^an organiza- 
tion. We have but one object, lo\e of home and country. 
Our charter makes no sectional or religious distinction. We 
receive all who are able to qualify with documentary proof 
sufficiently strong to stand the challenge of scrutiny and who 
are personally acceptable. 

" As founder of this Society I admit I have an ambition to 
see the women of the North and South unite in social bonds. 
I have had my dream of victory, and have heard the song of 
triumph, No North, no South, no East, no West, but union for- 
ever. Still if the dream is fulfilled, words and deeds must cor- 
respond, and in the selection of officers it has been a pleasure 
to demonstrate the assertion as a fact. Mrs. Schuyler Hamilton, 
Honorary Regent for the State of New York, has a legion of 
ancestors all native to the soil. She has a deep interest in the 
Society, and her relations will be cordial with those who delight 
to honor the name she bears. 

" Mrs. Philip Livingston, Honorary Regent, is an ancient 
memory, a link between the past and present. She can hardly 
realize the honor her name confers upon our Society. 

" In the days of the Revolution, when a great general was 
the demand of the hour, a son of Massachusetts called for a son 
of Virginia, and all were proud of the great Virginian. Again 
the Bay State and Old Dominion Daughters clasp hands in the 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 95 

Cosmopolitan City of the Empire State, where the first President 
of our Republic found not only a home but cordial welcome. 
Now in the days of peace and prosperity, when descendants are 
reviving memories, why should not history repeat itself? Mrs. 
Roger A. Pryor is selected regent of New York city. She has 
lived for over a quarter of a century in this city, a representative 
woman of 40,000 Southerners within the gates of Gotham, not 
pilgrims and strangers, but honored citizens. She will be true 
to her trust, 

" For one year I have given my best endeavors to our So- 
ciety, but the work is too much for my health. I have asked 
the board of managers to come to my relief and amend the 
Constitution to provide State Regents to appoait Regents of 
Chapters in various States under my supervision. It gives me 
pleasure to appoint Miss Louise Ward McAllister, a kinswoman 
of General Marion, regent for the State of New York, and 
designate her a member of the National Board of Managers." 

Mrs. Roger A. Pryor offered the following resolution, which 
met with the unanimous approval of the Chapter : 
Mrs. Chairman and Daughters of the American Revolution : 

I wish my first official act to be one of grateful recognition 
of the services of the one woman who not only founded the 
National Society, but who alone and unassisted has labored in 
this city to organize the New York Chapter o{ the Daughters of 
the American Revolution. 

That she has been unassisted by me in this arduous work, 
is due to my having resigned the office of regent, to which I 
was appointed on the iith of last October. I desired the vice- 
president in charge of organization to appoint some descendant 
of a New York patriot regent of the New York Chapter. Fully 
expecting that this would be done, I dismissed the matter from 
my mind. Not once did I ever sign the name or assume the 
privileges and duties of regent. 

Less than two weeks ago I was informed that my resignation 
had not been and would not be accepted. Thus it happened 
that Mrs. Darhng had no aid from me. 



94 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

You have all been witnesses to her devotion, patriotism, and 
untiring labors. Therefore I offer the following resolutions : 



ykvi^^A^^ ditA. cpf/Uifi^ 7). 7^ ydAy-^^L^^:iru , 



9^ k^l Ohy r/iviA ry^stjU' 






FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 95 












''Resolved, That the New York Chapter of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution gratefully 
appreciate the services of Mrs. Flora Adams Darling in 
their organization under the Charter and Constitution 
of the National Society of which she is founder, and 

''Resolved, That in token of this appreciation, the 
New York Chapter of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution claim the privilege of presenting to Mrs. 
Darling the badge of the Societ3^,to be suitably engraved 
and ornamented as the Society may determine." 

The resolutions were unanimously passed. 

The ninety-four charter members of the New 
York City Chapter, Daughters of the American Rev- 
olution, who signed the original constitution, are 



96 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

named in tlie following list, taken from the charter 
book, which has always remained in my possession : 

Florence Labouisse Adams, 

Frances Edna Allen, 

Mrs. John Allen, 

Mrs. Edwin Q. Bell, 

Mrs. Allan C. Bakewell, 

Mrs. Willard Botta, 

Mrs. J. Heron Crosman, 

Mrs. Felix G. de Fontaine, 

Mrs. Lucy Bronsen Dudley, 

Mrs. Robert Ogden Doremus, 

Estelle E. Doremus, 

Mrs. Richard S. Dana, 

Mrs. De Volney Everett, 

Miss Ada Laura Fairfield, 

Miss Mildred Britton Fairfield, 

Mrs. James Fairman, 

Miss Evelina H. Fairman, 

Helen L. Fairman, 

Mrs. Richard H. Greene, 

Mrs. Henry Hall, 

Miss Carrie Halsted, 

Miss Laura S. Heilner, 

Mrs. William Cummings Story, 

Mrs. John H. Judge, 

Mrs. Geo. A. Lawrence, 

Ruth Floyd WoodhuU Lawrence, 

Mrs. John Moffatt, 

Mrs. Alexander S. McGill, 

Mrs. Vincent Colyer, 

Mrs. DeWitt Clinton Mather, 

Edith Herbert Mather, 

Jeanne C. Irwin-Martin, 

Anne Whiting Irwin-Martin, 

C. L. Kernochan, 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 97 

Mrs. Mary Oothout, 

Julia Rush Olmsted, 

Mrs. Kate Hoffman Morris, 

Miss Kate O'Connor, 

Mrs. William R. Pryor, 

Mrs. Roger A. Pryor, 

Miss Frances Theodora Bland Pryor, 

Mrs. Jeremiah Potter Robinson, 

Margaret Downing Lanman Robinson, 

Mrs. William Moore Robinson, 

Mrs. S. M. Coutan, 

Mrs. Laura Feriy Monteath Swinburne, 

Mrs. Edwin A. Steven.'^, 

Mrs. Cornelius Van Allen Sidell, 

Mrs. Augusta Ramon Salas, 

Mrs. Charles Chapin Sargent, 

Miss Helen Sanborn Sargent, 

Mrs. William J. Hardy, 

Mattie Sheridan, 

Mrs. George Washington Tooker, 

Mrs. Helen K. Vreeland, 

Mrs. J. Hood Wright, 

Mrs. John Sergeant Wise, 

Mrs. Fielding Lewis Williams, 

Mrs. John Russell Young, 

Mrs. W. H. Tracy, 

Mrs. Edwin H. Wootton, 

Mrs. G. H. Wynkoop, 

Miss Louise Watson Clarke, 

Mrs. Gabriel Furman, 

Mrs. Charles W. Morgan, 

Mrs. William H. Harrison, 

Mrs. Le Roy Sunderland Smith, 

Mrs. WiUiam W. Read, 

Mrs. Florence Kelly Wischnewetzky, 

Caroline A. Van Wagener, 



98 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Mrs. William H. Trafton, 

Mrs. Joseph J. Casey, 

Dr. Nellie M. Flint, 

Mrs. Rosa W. Elmes, 

Mrs. William H. Stewart, 

Mrs. Duxie Halsted Rudisch, 

Mrs. Helen Harbeck Armitage, 

Mrs. Donald McLean, 

Ellen Way Williams, 

Mary Chase Steele Mills, 

Mrs. George Pendleton Bowles, 

Mrs. Charles Avery Doremus, 

Miss Susie A. Cobb, 

Miss Louise Cobb, 

Grace Parr Biddle Mcllvaine, 

Mrs. W. W. Shippen, 

Mrs. Linie Kiersted Trafton, 

Charlotte J. Bell, 

Miss Emma R. Puig, 

Mrs. Fannie Converse Jarvis, 

Harriet Mayo Richards, 

Mrs. Emma S. D. Martin, 

Mrs. Amelia Fletcher Blish, 

Mrs. Martha J. Lamb. 



CHAPTER IV. 

A MODERN REVOLUTION. 

AS soon as the expansion reached a point where ladies 
were to be elected for office, beyond the two named 
by me, I found a Noah's ark on my hands; desires and 
opinions bej'ond my control confronted me, both in 
New York and Chicago. I will dispose of Chicago 
first for it was soonest adjusted ; but my State Presi- 
dents were treated more like state convicts than women 
in authority. Mrs. Harrison, the President General, 
asked me specially to make Airs. Edward Roby Presi- 
dent of the State Society of Illinois. She told me her 
organizing abilities were of a high order. I in- 
ferred that Mrs. Harrison was desirous of paying 
some special compliment to the Grand Army element, so 
I made the appointment with pleasure. Mrs. Cabell 
suggested to me the name of Mrs. Osborne for Regent 
of Chicago. I was pleased to make this appointment. I 
selected Airs. Potter Palmer and Airs. John A. Logan as 
Honorary State Regents. The Board objected to Airs. 
Roby, and it is my personal opinion Mrs. Roby objected 
to the Board with more patent effect, and not from a 
personal standpoint. In order not to involve those 
who had proposed and made the appointment Airs. 
Roby sent me her resignation ''for the time being." 
This was the first cloud in our clear sky but the work 
was at its tide, and Airs. Rob}^ too good a patriot to 
impede progress through personalities. She continued 
an active and efficient member of the society. The 
spirit of enthusiastic harmony so earnestly manifested 
up to the date of this episode, gave no notes of discord. 



100 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Mr. McDowell became a disturbing influence. Mrs. 
Pryor and Mrs. Cabell gave him a listening ear, and 
the constitutional amendment lie desired won their 
approval, *'to abridge the power of the vice-president 
in charge of organization by eliminating clause 7." 
Now I had no objection to revision of the Constitution, 
but I objected to the amendment. The Roby episode 
of Chicago history indicated that two new members 
had been added to the Board, Jealousy and Envy. 

I desired to resign, but on account of a promise I 
had made to the old Brooklynites to attend the cele- 
bration on June 17th, I decided to continue until after 
that event, to give testimony of respect to the memory 
of the prison ship martyrs. The tomb in Fort Greene 
was a mecca for patriots, and to make this special 
shrine of importance it seemed pre-eminently desir- 
able that a Long Island chapter should be organized, 
with a representative Brooklj^n Daughter as Regent. 
I found that which I desired in Mrs. King, wife of 
Gen. Horatio C. King, and congratulated myself upon 
my "good luck." But instead of receiving congratu- 
lations from the Board, I was informed that "but one 
chapter could be organized in New York City," and 
Long Island was given the "cold shoulder." Mrs. Pryor 
had opposed having more than one chapter in Greater 
New York, but this opposition was indirect conflict with 
the Constitution, and I paid no attention to the order. 
I do not recall that I replied of&cially to the Secretary. 

The Regents felt that $1.00 was the constitutional 
amount to be paid to the National Society, and that 
the annual dues, $2.00, should be paid to the chapter. 
This letter is a type of many I received : 

46 Willow Street, Brooklyn. 

My dear Mrs. Darling : — I shall not send any more papers 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. loi 

or money to Washington until we are a chapter. I do not 
propose to work for naught, as I appear to have been doing the 
past two months. I wanted to call another meeting before 
leaving town, but as I have no authority I shall not do so. I 
am a little embarrassed as all look to me for information and I 
seem to have nothing to give that is definite. If the ladies I 
have asked wish, I should return their money and papers. It 
seems you did not date my appointment. I wish you could 
manage to put me on a firm basis in Washington, otherwise 
I really cannot act and lay myself open to such remarks as 
have been made. Yours sincerely, Mrs. E. H. King. 

June the Twenty-second, 189 1. 

An order to amend the constitution followed and 
mucli discussion resulted, as it was currently reported 
that "the Society was dissolving." 

The board in Washington was working for the 
amendment of the constitution, and issued the follow- 
ing call for a meeting : 

Daughters of the American Revolution. 

WASHINGTON, D. C, APRIL 22, 1891. 

The National Society of the Daughters 
of the American Revolution will meet at No. 
1407 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D. 
C, on Tuesday, May 26, 1891, at eight P. M. 

The object of the meeting is to finally 
consider the amendments to the Constitution. 

Only members of the Society and mem- 
bers of the Advisory Board will be present. 
Please be prompt. 

By order of the National Board of Management. 
MARY L. SHIELDS, 

SECRETARY-GENERAL (RECORDING). 
PRESENT THIS NOTICE AT THE DOOR. 



102 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

I was in New York and could not be present, so I 
sent my protest against any cliange in tlie constitution 
to the Board. The only use made of my letter was to 
publish garbled extracts in two circulars sent out to the 
Societ}'- : 

To the Board of Managers 

Daughters of the American Revolution : 

As chairman of the Committee on Constitution and Seal, I 
intended to be present at the meeting May 26th, to record my 
vote and offer my protest against the adoption of radical 
changes in the adopted constitution of the Society. My physi- 
cian forbids this action, for my eyesight is imperilled from over- 
work. 

When the constitution was adopted, December, 1890 (by 
the only society then extant), I regarded it to a certain degree 
provisional, to be practically applied by State societies, and 
after proper test, if found wanting, to be amended by the First 
Congress made up of elected General Officers, Regents and 
delegates accredited by the various societies to represent them 
in Washington, Feb. 22, 1892 (3 p. m.). I had no intimation of 
the action, and while I approve of the change regarding the 
appointment of Regents I protest against the methods employed 
to reach this end, and claim as chairman of the Committee I 
should have been consulted upon the advisability, since I am 
not only Founder of the Society, dating May i, 1890, but in 
charge of organization since October ii, 1890, and I frankly 
confess I did not expect members of the Board holding tem- 
porary office under my appointment for one year, to act in a 
matter of this responsibility, until elected. State societies were 
organized to accept or reject amendments affecting the general 
welfare of the Society. During this initial year it was my hope 
the badge and certificate of membership and other matters of 
minor interest would occupy the deliberations of the Board 
instead of reconsiderations of carefully considered matters ; 
beside the Constitution has met approval for initial work. I 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 103 

have sent out 200 copies, 16 societies have already signed the 
same and it has been published in the Year Books of the Sons 
and Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Respectfully, 

Flora Adams Datling, 
May 4, 1 89 1. 

Vice-President General in Charge of Organization 

and Chairman of Constitution and Seal. 



The following letter was sent to me in reply: 

Washington, May 7, 1891. 
My dear Mrs. Darling : 

Your letter addressed to the Board of Management was 
read at a meeting of the Board held May 4, 1891, On motion 
it was placed on file, and the Corresponding Secretary was 
instructed to reply on behalf of the Board. It is a subject of 
earnest regret that the proposal of the Board for amendments 
to the present constitution should not meet with your hearty 
approval. It is believed and hoped, however, that when you 
fully understand the difficulties that arose in the management of 
business for the Society, under the limits of the present consti- 
tution, you will think favorably of the whole action of the 
Board in this matter — as they are pleased to know that you 
now approve of most of the amendments proposed. 
Very respectfully yours, 

Ellejt Hardhi Walworth, 

Cor. Secretary-General, 

III I 17th Street, N. W. 

My letters to the Board of Managers have never 
been published, and extracts and garbled excerpts are 
all that the board has been inclined to use. On July 
6, 189 1, the board issued a circular letter to regents, 
in which I was arraigned for exercising arbitrary rule. 



I04 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

The circular was publislied in conformity with the 
following resolution : 

To the Regents of the National Society of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution : 

The National Board of Management of the Daughters of 
the American Revolution, at a meeting held July i, 1891, after 
due notice to the members of the Board, including Mrs. Flora 
Adams Darling, which notice stated that the object of the meet- 
ing was to consider " Mrs. Darling's relations to the National 
Society," unanimously adopted the following resolution : 

Whereas, Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, Vice-President in 
charge of the organization of Chapters of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, has refused to recognize the authority of 
the National Board of Management and to report her action to 
the same, and has forbidden the use of her name and threatened 
the Board with legal proceedings, and has declared in writing 
that her relations with the Board are ended, and has represented 
the Board as being her appointees and subject to her direction, 
and has charged members of the Board with being engaged in 
conspiracy against her, and has persistently attempted to dis- 
credit the authority of the Board with the members of the Society; 

Now, Therefore, the National Board of Management, 
believing that the best interests of the Society demand her 
removal from office, do declare that Mrs. Flora Adams Darling 
is hereby removed from the office of Vice-President in Charge 
of the Organization of Chapters of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, and that said office is hereby declared vacant 

Resolved, That till further direction of the Board, the 
supervision of organization of chapters is committed to a com- 
mittee of three members of the Board, to be appointed by the 
Vice-President presiding, who shall have authority to carry on 
the said work under the supervision of the Board. 
Attest : M. V. E. Cabell, 

Maty L. Shields, Vice-President Presiding, 

Recording Secretary-General. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 105 

The committee which drafted the circular was 
composed of the following members : Mrs. H. V. 
Boynton, Clara Barton, Marie Devereux, Lucia E. 
Blount, Regina M. Knott and Henrietta N. Greely. 

This was the "powerful document" that the 
Board concocted and spread abroad. It had but one 
result, the total embarrassment of the Board, for every 
one knew it to be fallacious. 

I made no reply to it, considering that it carried 
its own condemnation. 

I did all in my power to avert the storm, but it 
had to come, and the sooner over the better. While 
the war raged in Washington, the celebration to honor 
the martyrs of the Revolution, who had died on prison 
ships, went on to the finish ; also on Flag Day of that 
year, June 14th, my name stood with the patriots of 
Connecticut, who believed the flag should float from 
each school house, and the story of the emblem of our 
nation's glory be told by school children on Flag Day, 
to light the hearts of our people with sacred fire of 
patriotism from the cradle to the grave. 

Those were crowded days to me, and my nights 
were filled with thoughts to advance the interests of the 
Society that had followed my lead. If I entered the 
path of the wilderness, or if, like St. Paul, my letters 
to the Ephesians were not answered, I was not sus- 
picious, nor did I feel the conspiracy of silence. I 
accepted things as they came, and left matters beyond 
my control to time, the great adjuster of differences, 
but I had no vision of the founder's fate, for I had no 
ambition to be regarded leader. Yet since it was my 
mission to be on the firing line, I stood my ground. 

June 17, 1890, the plan to attend the celebration 
of the martyrs' tomb was successfully carried out. 



io6 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

The Board received a formal invitation to attend. 
Mrs. Harrison was specially invited to be tiie guest of 
Mrs. J. Hood Wright. I invited Miss Washington to 
be my special guest. Mrs. Harrison expressed her 
regrets that she would not be able to attend. No 
reply was received from Miss Washington. Mrs. 
Cabell sent her declination without regrets, in the 
name of the Board. 

As the story of Mr. William McDov/ell's appli- 
cation to membership in the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution spread, I received an ever-increasing 
number of letters asking for the facts. At length I 
issued the following general letter : 

To the Regents of the Daughters of the American Revolution : 

As founder of our Society and Vice-President of organiza- 
tion, also Chairman of the Committee on Constitution and Seals, 
with power vested in me under authority of the constitution to 
appoint all officers until the Society meets, January 22, 1892, 
to elect, I have acted for the good of the Society, and the 
result of my work is evidence of this assertion. 

A review from an official standpoint is necessary from the 
fact a crisis involving a vital principle has to be met and over- 
come, without fear or favor, if the possibilities of our organiza- 
tion are realized and our Society is made enduring. 

When it was decided that neither the Sons of the Revolution 
or Sons of the American Revolution would admit Daughters of 
Revolutionary Patriots into their organizations, I conceived the 
idea and carried out the plan to organize an independent society, 
to be named the Daughters of the American Revolution, to act 
in harmony with both societies, but not specially allied to 
either. I chose the title American Revolution, as it expresses a 
fact to confirm our nationality. I consulted with neither, but 
framed a Constitution to please myself, and secured twelve 
eligible ladies as charter members. When Mr. Wm. McDowell 
offered his services at the initial meeting, I invited him to pre- 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 107 

side ; he did so. Our acquaintance began and ended with this 
service, for which he sent me a bill for $yt).oo. On that day he 
requested me to make Miss Mary Desha Chairman of the 
Executive Committee. I declined to do so, knowing that Miss 
Desha was a pronounced woman suffragist and founder of the 
Wimodaughsis Club, the headquarters of the Women's Rights 
Society in Washington. When I declined to make the appoint- 
ment, Miss Desha felt she had a grievance. Mr. McDowell 
espoused her cause and joined with her to capture the organiza- 
tion, by declaring himself President and making her head of the 
Chapter ; to effect this he offered an application to enroll as a 
Daughter. (I have the original paper, which I herein repro- 
duce.) I was able to defeat this combination while I remained 
in Washington, but during my absence the hidden hand of 
conspiracy did its work with much effect. Now that Mr. Mc- 
Dowell has obtained control of the Board that I appointed to 
help organize and to carry out the plans adopted, I have written 
the Attorney-General forbidding the use of my name in any 
form in this new departure. I have also requested the resigna- 
tion of all officers who are not in harmony with the methods 
employed to found the Society under constitutional authority. 
The Chapter in Washington is simply local, with no more 
power than any other, and the seizure of the temporary Board 
by Mr. McDowell (I have his own letter telling how it was 
accomplished and giving names of his allies) does not affect the 
State organization. 

All letters of inquiry, also applications for admission to the 
Society I have founded, and regents' communications for the 
Adams' Magazine, are to be sent to me. 

Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, 

Founder D. A. R., 

2076 Fifth Avenue, 

New York City. 

At this date there was a serious interruption in 
mail matter addressed to me. The post office authori- 



io8 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

ties took the matter up and made a report fhat I ac- 
cepted as true, and later a letter was sent with a view 
of confirming a suspicion. The letter lodged where it 
was expected it would, but as the letters were official, 
not personal, the matter rested on a basis of knowledge 
that has since accounted for much that was wholly in- 
comprehensible to me and others who were watching 
the dissolution of the Society, the inevitable consumma- 
tion of a desired result. 

The McDowell episode — the direct event that aided 
the result can be given here as well as any other place, 
although further details of his relations to the Society 
will follow in the next chapter. 

Mr. McDowell presented an application blank to 
become a member, which was referred to me for action 
November ii, 1890. The idea struck me as so odd I 
wrote on the blank : 

" I want to be a Daughter and with the Daughters stand, 
A crest upon my paper, a check within my hand. 
And there among the Daughters so radiant and so bright 
I'll ring theai into glory; the pull I have is right." 

This indorsement made his friends angry, espec- 
ially when he was "declined with thanks for the offer, 
but not available." I, however, proposed that his little 
daughter be made a life member. Subsequently he 
sent me a bill for $75 for aiding the organization of 
the Society in Washington. On account of his price he 
was dispensed with in New York, hence he regarded him- 
self as unappreciated, and attributed the cause to me, 
which was an error of judgment on his part. But when 
he denied in the press that he ever desired to become 
a Daughter, it became necessary for me to verify the 
fact which I did through invitation of several Sons 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 109 

who had heard comparative history until they felt jus- 
tified in seeking the truth, which they did. 

As this statement is over Mr. McDowell's siena- 
nature it is safe to presume he is responsible for its full 
weight. 

With this paper he sent a check of five dollars ($5) 
or so I was told, to Miss Desha, which she handed to 
me, which I refused to accept. She said: " We had bet- 
lers have it framed and hung in the Society rooms as a 
souvenir of the Daughters." What use was made of 
the check I do not know, but I saw Mr. A. Howard 
Clark pass a paper cutter through the application. I 
remarked "Oceolo's answer to the undesired." At 
that time an Adamless Kden was the ambition of the 
Board, while as a matter of fact it was my desire to keep 
very near the Sons of both orders and I hoped through 
their wives, mothers, daughters and sisters to unite the 
divided family of Sons. Three of the interested ladies 
stood for "war to the knife with the Sons, or receiving 
aid or comfort from them." Miss Desha and Miss 
Washington had no cause for personal prejudice 
from actual knowledge of " the total depravity of the 
man," but they had no use for mankind, while Mrs. 
Cabell and myself, also Mrs. Clark, were without prej- 
udice and we were "the weaklings of the order." 

At the time Mr. McDowell sent me his bill for $75 
for aid in organizing the initial Society, which I handed 
to Mrs. Lock wood, in her private parlor, to give "to 
whom it concerned," the day before I left Washington 
for New York. I told her the life membership of his 
little daughter, proposed by me, was all the recognition 
I could ever give his "service rendered." ]\Ir. Gill, 
who had been of practical aid, never asked or received 
one dollar, and he defrayed his own expenses. 



I lo FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

What Mrs. Lockwood did witli tlie typewritten 
bill on commercial paper, I do not know. I never saw it 
after that day, December 22, 1890. 

I was told by Mrs. Edward P. Steers, early in 
July, upon my return with my son and his wife, after 
a visit to the seashore (I should say July loth), that 
she had heard " Mr. McDowell had captured the Board 
of Managers — matrons and maidens — through World's 
Fair exploits, that a new society on broader lines was 
to evolve from the so-called Darling Daughters," that 
she had during my absence heard from "the Board" — 
prohibiting the Darling societ}^ "by injunction," that 
Mrs. Henry Blount of Washington, had written her 
of the "deposing act," but supposed it would be con- 
tested, as there were doubts of power to do so." She 
said, there was irregularity in the actions — that 
Miss Desha went with the paper "to depose" to the 
houses of the members who were desired to sign it — or 
at least she went to Mrs. Blount's for her signature — 
which I was told she gave. I believe this assertion, 
but as a matter of fact, I NEVER heard of the meet- 
ing OR SAW OR HEARD OF ANY ACTION excepting 

through the Blount letter as told to me b}^ Mrs. Steers, 
early in July, 1891, and later through the suppressed 
press dispatch sent out by Mr. McDowell and his aids, 
that was made public July 31st. Mr. McDowell was 
the disturbing element — and a chapter has to be writ- 
ten that I wish could be ignored, but as it occurred it 
must stand as written, for its publicity placed it beyond 
concealment or disguise — it has to go on record as an 
historical fact. 

Here let me add that I appreciated his aid, which 
I regarded a spontaneous outburst of enthusiastic 
good-will toward the movement of organized Daugh- 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. iii 

ters — to see our boat well launcHed — and I gladly gave 
him place of pilot to my pioneer enterprise, and from 
his position as accredited organizer of "Sons of the 
two orders," I was inclined to regard him as Pope, but 
not willing to have him a Daughter. I did not feel 
assured enough of our safety to take among our crew 
a son in disguise, but I did desire his daughter in the 
hope to keep in touch with him, through the child of 
his heart and house, and I requested that she be ever 
regarded with special interest as daughter of the 
mother societ3^ I was made to see the hand of 
Bsau. I felt the positions he had to offer to the ladies 
of the Board at the World's fair would win, the temp- 
tation was a near certainty, while the Daughters had 
not passed the bar of experience, and his interest in 
the Columbian Bell made many of the Daughters desir- 
ous of becoming " Libert}^ Bell Ringers," but later 
they were made to realize that the Columbian bell had 
lost its jingle and the promoter had lost his pull ! 

In closing this chapter of complications and con- 
spiracy, it is with pleasure I can add as a well demon- 
strated truth that the society had nothing to do with 
the original attack — it was confined to a very limited 
number, a close corporation of two, is my judgment of 
the matter, and that others upheld the offenders upon 
misrepresentation and falsehood. Every one seemed 
to feel that double dealing or open treachery marked 
the episode, but experts in that style of assassination 
are adepts in covering the trail of crime for fear of 
condemnation and conviction. 

I counted the sacrifice I made without counting 
the cost. I knew I was right and this well-grounded 
knowledge gave me the courage of my convictions 
to maintain that belief, and even if wrong, I believed 



112 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

I was right in holding with a firm hand the design 
of my founding, when assailed for a purpose by Mr. 
McDowell to secure the controlling power of a tem- 
porary Board appointed only for a purpose. At 
all events I believed I was right the^i^ I believe it now, 
and I was willing to enter the unpopular stage of 
defense of m}^ work and willing to suffer temporary 
defeat for the sake of ultimate victory of the Society 
that I desired to become a great conservative factor in 
the future welfare of our country. I was not working 
for self or selfish ends, but for the cohesive organiza- 
tion of descendants of the patriots and founders of 
the American Revolution that gave to children of heri- 
tage and opportunity the United States republic, the 
first of the Western world. 

The Society was not intended as a stepping stone 
for social ambition or a stumbling block to patriotic 
ardor, nor as a badge of honor to indicate aristocratic ten- 
dencies, but my design was to unite through patriotism, 
as we are supposed to be in religion, and stand together 
for weal or woe as defenders of our founding and 
results of the men of '76, who gave to the new world, 
without fear or favor, the Declaration of Independence. 
I also desired to make collateral branches of the fam- 
ily tree to strengthen the bonds of alliance. I wished 
to have it known as Founders' Kin, whose members 
should enjoy all privileges, pleasures and pride as 
members of the family. 

I wish to state, in defense of the Daughters of 
wealth and pedigree that they were not the women to 
draw the lines. They had society at home, and were not 
compelled to seek it outside of their own circle, but 
love of Ancestry, Liberty, Home and Country, brought 
out the grandest response ever made to a call to 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 113 

unite for a common good. It was not this social ele- 
ment that called for "the black-ball" of exclusiveness, 
but like true daughters of noble sires they desired a 
patriotic society upon a broad basis. It was not the 
so-called "exclusives" who talked "of contact with 
inferiors," or desired black-ball argument, at star 
chamber proceedings — it was the strugglers for place 
who sought to make the Society a social advancement 
to new members who had been successful enough to 
become the fringe of the inner circle, who were eligible 
through ancestors to reach a circle nearer the zodiac 
than ever before, and the moment they were within 
the Fold of Hope, it became their object and aim to 
see whom of their acquaintances they could keep out. 
The tongue became the weapon of woman's war ; 
nor was the pen without its power, portraying "things 
I know, but do not tell who told you." Miss McAllis- 
ter and "her friends," and allow me to say they are 
legion, believed as I did, that the organizing officers 
must be of a high class, representative women who 
would attract ; but that any descendant, no matter 
how poor or how plain, should receive the kindest rec- 
ognition. I know of two ladies, who count their wealth 
by millions, who asked the privilege to make life mem- 
bers of any "ancient, honorable descendant who 
desired to unite, and who was too poor to honor her 
birthright." I know another who proposed to secure a 
fund to apply to the same purpose. So it cannot be 
charged that the Daughters of wealth tried to build on 
pedigree, but it can be accepted that they were proud 
and pleased to stand side by side with all Daughters of 
the defenders. Women of fortune know the import- 
ance of a bulwark to our home and country ; and in 
the hour of danger, upon whom would we call but 



114 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

tlie people ? The influence of American women on 
social and political life is seen and felt, not only 
as a fact, but a potent factor. Nor can it be 
denied or disguised that in tbe near future, so fraught 
witb great issues, another impending crisis to out 
Republic will find her in the arena of events employ- 
ing every means to secure victory ; and for this great 
world-wide reason I believed an organized society of 
women of principle, property and pedigree would find 
its proper place in the political economy of our coun- 
try. Woman's influence in the past is a matter of 
history. When aroused women will throw themselves 
into the strife with woman's energy, under the influ- 
ence of rivalry, and this spirit to lead to victory will 
become a power impossible to ignore and important to 
conciliate ; and the sooner the better, for nowhere has 
the influence forced recognition more than in our politi- 
cal life. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE "darling" chapter, D. A. R. — A BATTLEFIELD 
ON HARLEM HEIGHTS. 










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Il6 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

This chapter became the basis of the 
DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION ; 
hence a fact upon ivJiicJi to base the result of 
the zvar between the Lineals and Collaterals. 

Tlie Board accepted tlie Chapter and tlie money 
for membership, but there was prejudice and friction 
from the initial, for it was known the Chapter protested 
against the " Mother of a Patriot" clause and intended 
to have a voice in the Constitution debate at the Con- 
vention May 26; also they protested against the black- 
balling system. Still every one hoped unity of pur- 
pose and welfare of the Society would govern all 
interested. Mrs. Edward Paulet Steers was the 
Regent, and fully equipped to meet conditions and 
emergencies, and fully determined to keep the Society 
strictly lineal. 

The black ball episode — with the return of three 
papers from the National Society made a war of 
protests. A war of crimination and recrimination. 

The following letter shows my position : 

Everett House, May 5th, 1890. 

My Dear Mrs. Pryor : When it became known "A 
Committee of Safety " had been appointed "to keep out plain 
people," and applicants exposed toithe black ball argument, I 
could no longer deny the desirability of another Chapter being 
organized — there should be a place for " undesired patriots." 
Twelve ladies have united to form a Chapter in Harlem. A 
Regent's appointment has been issued and the', organization will 
take place without further delay. 

Before your meeting of last Wednesday, I requested the 
Board of National Society Washington to return all application 
papers signed by me for the purpose of deciding upon the social 
standing of the ladies from a New York standard of justice. I 
did not indorse either of the papers in question, but I have 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 117 

made inquiry and have decided great injustice has been done. 
Mrs. J. Heron Grossman indorsed Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Mrs. 
Harvier, Mrs. Postley. Mrs. J. Hood Wright, Mrs. Bakewell and 
one or two others. You indorsed, I believe, Mrs. J. Russell 
Young, Miss Harvier and two others. All others up to Febu- 
rary 22, 1890, I indorsed, but I have no personal interest in 
their acceptance or rejection of a paper or person whom I 
indorsed, but I shall stand by the rejected. My knowledge of 
human nature and acquaintance with New Yorkers for over 
thirty years is such — that after twelve weeks of careful research, 
and having met personally every one whom I indorsed, I do not 
shrink from having their names placed under social fire, but it 
must be known that I am not responsible for the action. I 
believe we were in full accord. It was my hope to have had 
you Regent of Manhattan Island with a place on the Board of 
Managers, but present conditions make it impossible — for small 
Chapters will be the order, and the action of the New York 
Chapter the direct cause. 

Miss McAllister as Organizing State Regent will appoint 
Chapter Regents soon as the Board in Washington acknowledges 
the Empire State claim. I am told you Hmited your Society 
to residents of New York City, to be relieved of a few who are 
undesired " Over the River. " This is your option, but National 
Members should have a place wherever found, as this is my idea, 
and the Harlem Chapter will extend welcome. Mrs. Horatio C. 
King has accepted the Long Island Regency. The amendment 
to the Constitution calls for initiation fee of ^5.00 — it is too 
much. Many in the South will object to the amount. 
I shall stand by them, and if possible reduce it to original figure. 
The ladies in this locality will not object. The Board has 
decided against a Regent being also an Honorary Regent. Mrs. 
Henry can select the one for Virginia. I hope any papers that 
may be rejected you will kindly send me so that I may be the 
one to tell the ladies, to spare supersusceptibilities as far as 

possible. 

Believe me, Mrs. Pryor, I wish you well with your reor- 



Il8 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

ganized Chapter, but must tell you frankly, for a Southern lady 
to be the first to inaugurate the black ball system in a patriotic 
society is a mistake of judgment. I hate Star Chamber pro- 
ceedings, but if the majority like it I am satisfied. Still the 
word " trash" has caused much bitterness to pass over this city. 
I defend you from making the remark. 

I am glad you read my letter to the Committee — they 
know how I regard the matter. I also sent Mrs. Grossman's to 
the Board. We are acting officially — so there are no conceal- 
ments. We have to go on record, and as it is written, it must 
stand. Our heads may differ but our hearts agree. It would 
take more than one black ball to change the high estimate I 
have of you, as a lady to invite and command respect, but we 
have chosen different methods and different paths. 

The celebration June 17th is a "go-as-you-please" affair. 
Thirteen ladies, each a native of one of the thirteen original States, 
have accepted. This number answers the letter of the law and 
to make the occasion all to be desired. With renewed assurances. 

Sincerely, Flora Adams Darling. 
To Mrs. Roger A. Pryor. 

I hope you can go to Washington for the 26th. 

On tlie same day I the sent tlie following letter to 
the chairman of the National Board : 

Everett House, New York City, May 5. 
To the Chairman of the National Board of Managers, 

Wasliington, D. C. 
Madam : 

In view of circumstances, and after taking counsel with men 
in whom I have confidence ; also with the consent of the ladies 
whose papers I received in good faith and forwarded to the 
National Board of Managers for action, I have decided to ask 
that all the applications made be returned to the Regent of 
New York, excepting those of ladies who became National 
Members of the Society last fall ; namely, Mrs. Dudley, Mrs. 
Salas, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Everett, Mrs. Guild, Miss Guild, Mrs. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 119 

Jones, Mrs. Edward Irving Darling and Miss Florence L. 
Adams — whose papers have been passed upon and who are re- 
corded Charter Members. 

Those who have submitted papers since the first meeting 
Feb. 22, '91, to be returned "for social reason =;." The Society- 
is dissolving into small chapters and much impatience is ex- 
hibited owing to the report that papers are being withheld for 
specific reasons that until after this constitutional Convention 
"only the enlightened are desired to be present." 

Miss McAllister will firm a society and take her place on 
the Board of Management, and ladies admitted to the National 
Society most enjoy the privileges guaranteed by the Constitution 
we are organizing under. Yet Chapters are unrecognized, 
and it is knowm National Members are to be blackballed by 
the by-laws of the New York City Chapter. I shall not ac- 
cept any more members, but refer them to Mrs. Pryor. To say 
the indignation at this black ball act is great, hardly expresses 
the condition. The cause is known and the effect will be felt 
in good time. I have sent sixty-three paperh — the ladies be- 
lieve the B^ard has already accepted the papers. I have no 
means of knowing — no return has been made but one since 
the first eighteen selected. I sent the money with papers by 
express to have no financial mistake occur at this crisis. It is 
important to have this matter cleared up satisfactorily for the 
good of the Society and all concerned. 

Twelve more papers are now ready to forward, the Regent 
will mark them numerically for satisfaction. I am informed that 
in New Jersey 800 applicants have signified desire to unite, and 
that one hundred applications have been filed for action. I am 
also told they will not be sent to Washington until previous 
papers are returned, and the security Chapters are to enjoy un- 
der the provisions of the Constitution is assured. 

Respectfully, 

Flora Adams Darling, 
Vice-President-General, D. A. R. 
May 5, 1 89 1. In Charge of Organization. 



120 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

On June iStli I resigned the office of Vice-Presi- 
dent-General in charge of organization, retaining my 
life membership. I had on the 8th forwarded all that 
I held of the Society and it was announced my work 
was ended. Some regrets were expressed, but all who 
knew of the interior life approved my action. I was 
out of office, the first of anj^ kind or character that I 
had ever held, and from my heart I could sing the song 
of deliverance. 

On June 24th, in an indirect way I was told a vote 
of censure had been passed by the Board for my attack 
on Mr. McDowell. I was not an officer and felt no 
special resentment. We were about even. 

My son and his wife joined me. We visited the 
seashore, then went through Canada, reaching Detroit 
July 30th. The first item that greeted our arrival was 
what seemed to be a press dispatch from Washington : 
"Mrs. Darling Deposed by National Board of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution. Not Eligible 
to Her Own Societj^" 

Another : "The Founding of a Society on Imagi- 
nation." Knowing I had resigned and turned over 
effects of office June i8th, I thought it was a belated 
dispatch. We went to the public library for confir- 
mation. We desired to see the New York papers, and 
upon investigation we discovered one or more leading 
papers of each State had the notice, "Mrs. Darling 
Deposed from Her Own Society." Soon as the New 
York papers reached Detroit I began to discover my 
bearings. 

In order to appreciate the situation it must be 
understood that it had been decided by the officers of 
the Darling Chapter that unless the National Board 
made proper concessions to their demand to place the 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 121 

entire order on the basis of lineal descent, on or before 
Angust ist, the chapter wonld withdraw from the orig- 
inal organization and stand sqnarely on the founding 
stone of Mrs. Darling's plan. This ultimatum no 
doubt hastened the attack on me, which was not 
intended until October nth, 1891, and the Daughters 
of the Revolution was a living vital issue, held in 
reserve for emergency. Mr. Steers, a man of large 
wealth, was so incensed at the attack, as he knew the 
truth in detail, he told Mrs. Steers to tell Mrs. Darling 
he would be the financial treasurer of the revolution. 
And it is a nineteenth century miracle to witness the 
power of ready money in willing hands. Within a few 
hours a society materialized free and independent of 
Washington, and the McDowell Board, as the manage- 
ment was called — the Daughters of the Revolution, a 
strictly lineal organization. 

In all m}^ relations with the Society I had made 
every endeavor not to have Mrs. Harrison burdened 
with other people's affairs after the Roby episode, but 
in this matter I had her assurance "that she was not 
present and knew nothing of the matter until she saw 
it in the newspaper." Mrs. Roby entered the arena 
as a Darling champion, with a force that must have 
struck terror. It was she who told of the attack beine 
sent to editors — a typewritten letter — "by order of the 
Board," sent out simultaneously with the request to 
use on such a date. As one interested in a Chicago 
paper, she had the document in evidence and came to 
Detroit to see me in person. Before she arrived I had 
sent to the Associated Press — for I did not believe 
they would pass over their wares such alibelas the let- 
ter contained. The following letter tells that my 
judgment of the press was correct : 



122 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

August II, 1 89 1. 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, 

2076 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 
Dear Madam : 

Your favor of August 8th, addressed to the President of 
the Associated Press, has reached this office. The objection- 
able statements which you say were sent out as a press dis- 
patch from Washington on July 27th, were not handled by the 
Associated Press. The news must have reached the papers 
through some special channel. I am sorry to say that we have 
no means of finding out how the matter reached the papers, or 
who was responsible for giving it out. All I can say is that zve 
did not use it. 

Yours very truly, 

Chas. R. Williams, 

Ass't Gen' I Mgr. 

Tlien to the husbands of each, lady on the Board I 
wrote a letter that brought by return of mail a full 
denial of any knowledge of the libel attributed to the 
Board. I believe each one, and I believe one person 
with two auxiliaries did the whole affair regardless of 
near or remote consequences in the vain hope that 
"they could defeat me." It was said an effort was 
made to discover the criminals, but the only outcome 
I ever saw was several items that others were made 
victims. I located it to my satisfaction. Mrs. Roby 
published the following in her own paper over her 
own signature, and sent to others who copied her 
opinion which gave it much publicity : 

What I know about Mrs. Flora Adams DarHng : 

I am asked if I know Flora Adams Darhng the founder 

of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Yes, I do, 

and I know her to be a woman of unusual literary ability. She 

has written several books ; one of the recent ones, " A Social 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 123 

Diplomat," has been very successful. She .is a lady of the 
highest social position, a descendant of the great patriotic 
Adams family of New England, and proudly she has sustained 
the name, for she has done much noble self-sacrificing work for 
her country. She married Gen. Darling when quite young. 
They had one son. Gen. Darling was a Southerner and during 
the war fought on the rebel side. He died for his cause. Their 
only son is a gifted musician, having written several successful 
operas. He is married to one of Washington's foremost daugh- 
ters and Mrs. Flora Adams Darling spends much of her 
time with her children, and a more happ\' and contented 
flimily is seldom seen. Mrs. Darling is founder of ihe 
Daughters of the Revolution as well as the Daughters of the 
American Revolution — the Sons have two societies — and now 
she has founded the Daughters of the United States of the War 
of 1 8 12. You see from th it that she loves her countr}', and the 
best men and women of the nation who have l)cen honored by 
her acquaintance know that and love her. I hope to have the 
pleasure of a visit from her soon. 

Lf.lia p. Roby. 

This opinion coining from one who had yielded 
her office upon my request for the sake of peace, with- 
out complaint or retaliation open or under cover, gave 
me more pleasure than any letter during the Daugh- 
ters' revolution, and it is a privilege to record my 
opinion of that grand patriotic woman, one of the 
truest, most honest-hearted patriots I ever met, and 
gifted as an orator to carrj' her audience with her to a 
degree seldom ever seen. She is an independent spirit. 
She is a woman. 

Mrs. Roby was much grieved over the anon3'mous 
letter scandal. The general tenor of the majority 
touched the same kejaiote, that Mrs. Darling was not 
eligible to her own society, that "she was not an 
Adams," that "her ancestor was a Tory," that "she 



124 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

was a Czar," Another contained but one sentence, 
*' Audacious, audacious, always audacious;" another, 
"A Pretender, Mary Desha and Mr. McDowell 
founded the Daughters." A chorus of indignation 
reached me through letters, but for once in my life I 
felt silent, and my pen refused to talk. I could not 
do the subject justice, and there was no word in the 
English language to express my contempt for the 
National Board of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution. 

I know the nature of each ; I have their letters of 
thanks for the position, and it seems incredible that 
Mr. McDowell exercised such supreme control over 
five women, especially when we had never had the 
slightest approach of personal trouble. I felt, and 
supposed they did, that a marked difference existed 
between personal and official differences ; I felt that 
heads could differ yet hearts agree. While I admit I 
defended my Constitution and cause to the best of my 
ability, and was ready to stand by every word written 
by me, and all was in writing, I never had other than 
the friendliest feeling toward the ladies of the Board. 
Later my letters were published, to show my differ- 
ence with the Board, a difference of which I am most 
proud, and in reading them over it is a wonder how I 
could have written so well under such conditions. I 
had but one copy which I gave to the D. R. Society, 
to keep in evidence of my principles more than my 
policy. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 



125 



THE DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION. 
This Society was the result of Evolution, as I have 
set forth ; it was ignored at its birth, but from the 
cradle it was a child of strength — every person named 
on the Charter had a place in life and filled it — and the 
material was of a substantial character to make the 
foundation permanent. 

The List of The Charter Members of the Daughters of 
THE Revolution, Who Formed the Original Darling 
Chapter, Follows : 

Mrs. Edward Paulet, Regent, 2076 Fifth Avenue, New York 
City. 



Miss Florence L. Adams, i 
Mrs. Smith A.nderson, 2 
Miss Josephine K. An- 
derson, 3 
Miss Helen E. Brown, 4 
Mrs. Chas. A. Bell, 5 
Mrs. Edwin Q. Bell, 6 
Mrs. George W. Burnham, 7 
Mrs. S. E. Bourne, 8 
Mrs. Hans S. Beattic, 9 
Mrs. C. Haywood Brown, 10 
Mrs. Frank Bailey, 1 1 
Mrs. D. C. Carr, 12 
Mrs. Wm. Collins, 13 
Mrs. Flora Adams Dar- 
ling, 14 
Mrs. Frank H. Daniels, 15 
Miss Minnie B. Daniels, 16 
Mrs. De Volney Everett, 17 
Mrs. J. W. French, 18 
Mrs. Herbert H. Fonda, 19 
Mrs. J. L. Grahamc, 20 
Mrs. Geo. H. Gardner, 21 



Mrs. Mary Griffin, 22 

Mrs. William Heifer, 23 

Mrs. DeWitt Hamilton, 24 

Miss Bessie Harris, 25 

Mrs. M. C. Holmes, 26 

Mrs. S. J. Han, 27 

Miss L. ]\I. James, 28 

Mrs. Eug.ir Ketcham, 29 

Mrs. Lucretia Morris, 30 

Mrs. John H. Martin, 31 

Mrs. Robert Mook, 32 

Mrs. H. C. McGown, 33 

Mrs. J. S. McWilliams, 34 

Mrs. A. F. Nurman, 35 

Mrs. E. R. Olcott, 36 

Mrs. Chas. O'Rouke, ^ 

Mrs. Francis H. Parker, 38 

Mrs. Emilio Puig, 39 

Miss Louise M. Puig, 40 

Mrs. Joseph C. Robinson, 41 

Mrs. Antonia F. Rasines, 42 

Miss A. M. Rasines. 43 

Mrs. L. F. Rowe, 44 



126 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 



Mrs. W. M. Read, 45 

Mrs. James A. Ross, 46 

Miss Viola H. Russell, 47 

Mrs. Frederick Reid, 48 
Mrs. Edward Paulet Steers, 49 

Mrs. Abraham Steers, 50 

Miss L. P. Steers, 5 i 
Mrs. Le Roy Sunderland 

Smith, 52 

Mrs. R. R. Smith, 53 

Miss Hattie A. Slade, 54 

Mrs. Wm. Shrady, 55 

Miss Mary F. Sinclair, 56 

Mrs. A. E. Scott, 57 

Mrs. Louis Schott, 58 

Mrs. Louis H. Schultz, 59 

Miss Francis A. Strong, 60 

Mrs. Geo. Thornton, 61 

Mrs. Pierre M. Thomson, 62 

Mrs. Oliver C. Titus, 63 

Mrs. M. D. Vanzandt, 64 

Mrs. A. G. Vermilya, 65 

Mrs. Henry A. Warren, 66 

Mrs. J. H. Wright, 6y 

Miss Elsie M. Wilbur, 68 

Mrs. S. A. Webster, 69 

Mrs. W. H. Whittingham, 70 

Mrs. He~'nry D. Williams, 71 
Miss Jennie L.Williamson, 72 

Miss Viola D. Waring, 73 

Dr. George R. Van de Water, D. 



Mrs. Henry D. Winans, 74 

Mrs. Jessie Watson, 75 

Mrs. Walter Watkins, y6 

Mrs. Hugh C. Young, ^y 

Mrs. Rowe, 78 

Mrs. Sally Corey, 79 

Mrs. Isabelle Furman, 80 

Mrs. Charles W. Dayton, 81 
Mrs. D. Phoenix Ingra- 

ham, 82 
Mrs. Bradley L. Eaton, 8} 
Mrs. M. C. Casey, 84 
Mrs. L. S. Davis, 85 
Mrs. Geo. Innes, Jr., 86 
Mrs. Charles F. Roe, 87 
Mrs. John F. Berry, 88 
Mrs. Seth C. Hansdon, 89 
Mrs. Chauncey S. Truax, 90 
Mrs. Charles B. Yardley, 91 
Mrs. Francis E, Doughty, 92 
Mrs. John N. Brookman, 93 
Mrs. Montgomery Schuy- 
ler, 94 
Mrs. Ludin, 95 
Mrs. Louis J. Allen, 96 
Mrs. Courtney Manning, 97 
Mrs. H. T. Bartlett, 98 
Mrs. A. P. Fitch, 99 
Mrs. J, H. French, loo 

D., Chaplain General, 



Daughters of the Revolution — Organization 
National Society. 



OF THE 



" In recognition of the services of Mrs. Flora Adams 
Darhng, she shall, during her lifetime be known and recognized 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 127 

as Founder and Director General of the National Society." So 
reads Article IV. of the Constitution of the National Society of 
the " Daughters of the Revolution," and is intended as a trib- 
ute to Mrs. Darling for her noble efforts in banding together 
the women who have descended from Revolutionary sires. 

In August last a number of prominent ladies met at the 
residence of Mrs. Edward P. Steers, 2076 Fifth Avenue, for the 
purpose of organizing the National or General Society of the 
Daughters of the Revolution. Step by step, with the utmost 
harmony, they went through the preliminary stages of organ- 
ization — from the adoption of a constitution and the election of 
the prominent officers, to the selection of a seal, the approval 
of a badge and the colors to mark America's Daughters. [From 
report in Adams' Magazine^ 

The anonymous war led to a great result, yet 
every one hoped witli a new Board — the disturbing 
influence would become relegated to the rear, and the 
two Societies accept the best of each and perhaps 
build stronger from the result of conflict. 

One thing was evident, State Societies were popu- 
lar ; the relations of State orders to the general Society 
that of an independent State to the general govern- 
ment. The General Society like the United States 
where opportunity is given to discuss and settle ques- 
tions aff"ecting the whole organization. Each State 
has its own mission as it has its own heroes sleeping 
in unmarked graves who have been practically for- 
gotten, yet a halo lingers over events and results of 
their lives to be brightened through the sunshine of 
remembrance, for our Society is banded together to 
seek history, to mark graves ; in the future let it not 
be asked : 

"Oh ! Say can none tell where the Chieftain was laid ? 
Where our hero in glory is sleeping ? 
Alas ! shall we never more seek out his grave 
While fame oe'r his memory is weeping ?" 



128 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

" We are to tell the Story of tlie States, and mark 
the graves of heroes. The primary object is to secure 
genealogies, facts and traditions of the Founders of 
America ; where they came from, the vessels they 
arrived in, their descendants, and records of service 
in the French War, in the Revolutionary War — 
and the second War of Independence, known as the 
War of 1812. These facts supplemented with interest- 
ing legends of conspicuous characters that have passed 
over the cable of time from father to son form basis 
of history and furnishes memoirs and biographical 
sketches of prominent men and women who have 
given history to the world through words and deeds. 
It is the mission of our Societies to revise legends of 
the heroism of the women of the Revolution. Much 
has gone from memory with the generation that wit- 
nessed it ; until recently it was but the faint echo of 
an expiring tradition. Now all is changed — our 
Societies seek to honor the past and to guide the 
future ; and in this great work all forget self and rise 
above selfish ends to better our country, for having 
lived by our precept and example and it is to be hoped 
they may run on parallel lines and under all condi- 
tions be true to principles and honor the true guides 
to enduring renown. Let us honor the past for out 
of it has been wrought the present and let us guide 
the future for we must look forward as well as back- 
ward to be of service to posterity — to aid in educating 
the people of the next century in the events and 
results that led our ancestors to declare Indepen- 
dence — to make a new flag and to build our Republic 
on the foundations of Plymouth Rock — the Eternal 
Rock of Patriotism that gave to Americans Liberty, 
Home and Country. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 129 

" In an xAssociation like ours, extended oppor- 
tunities to verify traditions of that age that tried men 
souls is given, and it should be our privilege as well 
as our duty to garner the words and deeds of our 
ancestors, to publish memoirs of the life, letters and 
times of the Revolution, for in individual records 
of this kind is found the raw material for history, 
a line of literature in which the United States is 
deficient. 

''The life of those who won Independence of the 
Colonies and their sons who cemented the States into 
a Republic by the blood of sacrifice was a period when 
few facilities were offered to put on record the story of 
their work. We can do it for we enjoy the results of 
the Revolution." 

This extract from my address was read by the 
Secretary, and from that August day when the Dar- 
ling Chapter declared its independence to stand by 
Founder and the Constitution — independent of Mr. 
McDowell's influence, the Society has been a pro- 
nounced success. It was under the presidency of Mrs. 
Steers, who received her appointment the President- 
General of the Daughters of the Revolution — a Society 
based upon State organizations. The work accom- 
plished by Mrs. Steers was most satisfactory, and the 
style in which it was done presented an object lesson of 
artistic refinement, worthy of the Society she repre- 
sented. She was captain at the helm of the ship Hvolu- 
tion on the sea of Agitation, under the chart of loyalty 
— under the pennon of hope, and under the colors of 
buff and blue — to uphold State Societies founded on 
lineal descent. 

In my intimate acquaintance with Mrs. Steers, 
our relations were always friendly ; her house a home 



I30 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

house for Daughters, and to me she was ever the 
same, just and honorable. In my calendar of memory 
the names of Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Steers, the two 
Alpha Presidents-General will ever be remembered 
with cherished affection. 




Caroline Scott Harrison. 



CHAPTER VI. 

PROPOSED COMPROMISE. 

T^HOSE wlio knew my wishes and desires were 
-* aware of the regret I experienced over the dis- 
ruption of the Society. Mrs. Steers, Mrs. Mather, Mrs. 
Salus, Mrs. de Fontaine and many other regents did 
everything to avert the climax. Mrs. Steers invited 
the Washington Executive Board to visit New York 
as her guests, "in view of adjustment," before the 
so-called press dispatch was sent out, but the invita- 
tion was declined. The following circular was then 
issued by Mrs. Harrison. The one given here I 
received directl}^ from her, which, of course, I could 
not accept, as it seemed to me the cause of the con- 
ference would more or less interfere with the purpose 
for which it was called ; and further, no member of 
my family accepted, in order to leave an open field for 
discussion and effect, independent of personal feelings. 
This circular was issued October 6, 1891. The peace 
conference was a failure. 

To the Regents of the National Society of the Datighfers of the 
American Revolution : 

With a view to the establishment of complete unity of 
action and perfect harmony of feeling throughout the National 
Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, the Board of 
Management, conscious of the integrity of its purposes and the 
legality of its actions, requests a Meeting of every officer of the 
Society, and of every lady who has at any time received an 
appointment through any officer of the Society — whether she 



132 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

has received notice that such appointment has been confirmed 
or not. 

The meeting will be held Thursday, October sixth, in the 
drawing rooms of 1407 Massachusetts avenue, placed at the dis- 
posal of the Society on that date as a hall, and to be in no sense 
considered a private residence. It is earnestly requested that 
every Chapter formed, or in process of formation, shall be rep- 
resented on this occasion. It is requested that the ladies coming 
to this meeting shall bring a clearly defined statementof any just 
cause of complaint they may entertain, and documentary evi- 
dence to support the position they are prepared to take. The 
Advisory Board of the National Society will be present, and 
each Chapter regularly formed is invited, if it so desires, to 
send one member of its Advisory Board or Council of gentle- 
men, to aid its lady representatives in maintaining its views. 

The fullest opportunity will be allowed for the discussion of 
every question, and it is believed that in the course of this can- 
did and friendly conference a full understanding of mutual rela- 
tions will be attained, and confidence established in the Society 
of Daughters of the American Revolution, which has for its 
high aim the promotion of Patriotism in our native land. Plans 
will be proposed for the advancement of the Society. Practical 
lines of work will be considered, and each Regent is invited to 
present her views and those of her chapter upon these subjects. 

It must be understood that this meeting is for conference 
only, and does not take the place of the Continental Congress, 
which meets February 22, 1892. 

Caroline Scott Harrison, 

President- General. 

M. V. E. Cabell, 

Vice-Pres. Geti., Presiding. 

Mary L. Shields, 

Recording Secretary-General. 

Ellen Hardin Walworth, 

Corresponding Secretary- General. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 133 

Tlie following paper was tlie basis of well-consid- 
ered plans, and while unsigned it came to my hands at 
the headquarters of the Society, where all papers were 
open to my scrutiny. The identity of the author is 
known to me : 

My plan is that both Societies shall be under one President, 
and on account of the D. R.'s having withdrawn from the D. A. 
R.'s, it seems proper that the union shall be with the D. A. R., 
and the President of the D. A. R. shall stand as the President 
of both Societies, having joined both. The request is that pub- 
lic State celebrations shall be held either together or in unison, 
and that all application papers shall be accepted by the D. A. R., 
and that the D. R's Constitution shall be acknowledged as the 
authority and name of the Society. 

The plan was not acceptable to the majority as the 
ballot taken by the Daughters of the Revolution on 
printed forms indicated. A facsimile of the ballot is 
here given : 

Do you wish a union of the Society Daughters 
of the Revolution tvith the Society Daughters of the 
American Revolution ? 

( Write here yes or no) 

Do you approve the plan of union presented 
in the accompaJiying circular? 

( Write Jure yes or no) 

Signattire 

Address 



Number. 



Now, as a matter of fact, every one in both Orders 
regretted the separation, and Sons were disgusted at 



134 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

the outcome, and I was appealed to most earnestly to 
become a peacemaker — to try my liand at compromise. 
It was believed the action of the Daughters of the 
Revolution would be the direct means of eliminating 
the ''Mother of a Patriot" clause, and that after the 
storm the Rainbow God would appear, and the up- 
heaval of opinion would prove a benefaction in the end. 
I received letters of assurance to justify an effort to 
merge the two societies into one. I was entirely willing 
to obliterate myself from the of&cial staff in both 
Orders to accomplish a desired result, of course retain- 
ing the life membership that had been voted me in 
both Orders. 

We all know that the title of Founder is an honor 
when well won and graciously accorded, but we also 
know it has no of&cial place unless legally awarded. 

In Article IV. of the Constitution of the Daugh- 
ters of the Revolution, 1891, I was made Director for 
life, with the acknowledgment of founder. I knew the 
position of Director would not be agreeable to the 
D. A. R. Society, and the conditions of the D. R. 
Society under its efficient officers needed no direction 
from me ; hence I resigned before I offered the com- 
promise, November, 1891, which I sent to Mrs. Cabell 
November nth, 1891. I also sent a copy the same 
date to Mrs. Steers through Mrs. Le Roy Sunderland 
Smith, Historian-General of the Society, 

The following letter from Col. A. S. Hubbard, of 
October 24th, 1891, stands in evidence that I was not 
averse to compromise from the very first — for my letter 
to reach San Francisco, to have a reply written October 
2ist, shows that when the Peace Conference of October 
6th failed I was willing to try my efforts in the same 
direction, with a hope of success. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 135 

San Francisco, October 24th, 1891. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

Yours of the 14th inst, conveying the inteUigence that, 
after all, there is to be only one Society of the Daughters in the 
United States, is the most pleasant information you could 
write me. 

I congratulate you and Judge Deming in bringing about 
the result. 

The Washington Society is a local affair, which I hope 
time will broaden into a National Society. 
I remain your friend, 

A. S. Hubbard. 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, Detroit, Mich. 

I have never seen the letters referred to in the fol- 
lowing newspaper item, which could not have been 
official so far as the Daughters of the Revolution were 
involved for Mrs. Smith delivered my letter to 
Mrs. Steers, and returned to me her reply ; but it 
was evident there was neither peace nor compromise in 
sight, and equally as true " ye cannot serve two 
masters," especially when they are women. 

DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

A SHARP REBUKE TO MRS. DARLING. 

We have no objection to comply with the request of the 
officers of the above Society, to insert in this issue the contents 
of a letter sent by them to Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. According 
to the following communication, it would do no harm if Mrs. 
Darling should remember the wise words : " You cannot serve 
two masters." 

Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. 

Washington, D. C. 
Dear Madam : The Society of the " Daughters of the 
Revolution" having seen in the daily papers a notice of the re- 



136 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

ceipt at Washington of a proposed compromise from Mrs. Dar- 
ling, beg leave to state that it was made entirely on her own re- 
sponsibility, as the Society did not authorize or have knowledge 
of it, neither would they, under any circumstances, approve of it. 
I have the honor to be. 

Yours very truly, 

F. Adelaide Ingraham, 
[seal] Cor. Secretary. 

2076 Fifth Avenue, New York, 
December 7, 1891. 

The regular meeting of the Executive Committee of the 
" Daughters of the Revolution " was held on Monday, December 
7, at the residence of Mrs. Edward R Steer.-^. Mrs. De "Witt C. 
Mather presided. Many new members were admitted and much 
business transacted. Some very interesting relics were presented 
to the Society by Mrs. L. F. Rowe, a member of the Executive 
Committee. The attention of the Board was called to the fact 
that a proposed compromise from Mrs. Darling had been re- 
ceived at Washington by the "Daughters of the American 
Revolution." This was a matter of great surprise to the Board, 
as they had not been consulted, nor did they know aught of it. 
On motion, it was resolved and carried unanimously that the 
Secretary be directed to write an official letter to Washington 
stating this fact. 

The incongruity oftlie Board of the Daughters of 
the Revolution declaring ignorance of the proposed 
compromise, after a vote on the question had been 
taken on official ballots is in line with many other acts 
of both Boards. 

I was remote from the scene of action, and paper 
missiles at long range were not very dangerous "to 
life or pursuit of happiness." I was informed later 
that the compromise was received by the D. A. R. 
Board of Managers and laid upon the table, and so far 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 137 

as I am aware, it lias lain there from that day to this — 
without further effort on my part. 

Later, April, '96, another proposition in view of 
compromise was submitted by some one, I believe 
Mrs. Yardley, and rejected by both Orders. I was 
requested to write Mrs. Stevenson, President-General. 
I did so — but no direct reply was given. It was 
acknowledged as received by the Secretary, to whom 
I sent it for assurance that it would reach the one for 
whom it was intended. 

10 1 W. 89TH Street, New York. 
April 22, '96. 
To Mrs. Stevenson, President. 
Dear Madam : 

I am solicited to give my official opinion regarding the 
desire for reunion between the Societies instituted and organized 
by me in 1890-1891. The separation occurred through a 
" Mother of a Patriot" clause, that was incorporated against 
my protest; and State Regents were rejected to centralize the 
official power at Washington, under a local Board. Subsequent 
events — eliminating the collateral clause and the appointment 
of State Regents — is a full and free indorsement of the founding 
as originated by me (I have all the proof at hand to maintain 
facts that were for a time ignored). As all I ask has been 
conceded — naturally there were those who regarded union a 
natural sequence, but I assure you madam there is no move- 
ment toward concerted reunion. There are several who 
individually desire to return to the D. A. R. fold (I should say 
some 300), and I advise them to do so at an early date, and 
it is to be hoped that they will do so in the interest of harmony 
of action with the majority. But the Daughters of the Revolution 
with seal, badge, colors and a membership of over 2,000 and 
increasing daily, of selected women of lineal descent cannot be 
merged into any other organization to lose identity and indi- 
viduality, because a few desire to be with the many. 



138 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

I have a decided opinion, but have not varied it since the 
rejection of " the Darling Compromise," November, 1891^ 
before action had crystalized the organization of a second 
society, but now it is very different. It is my desire to open 
wide the door of exit, and I hope the door of entrance will 
receive any and all who prefer a centralized government vested 
in a few at Washington, in preference to State Societies, 
federated into a General Society. I prefer the latter, but 
individual preference or judgment is of little consequence when 
matters of moment are in the balance of opinion. I was 
requested to give my views, also the truth of the matter, as 
the case now stands, and do so without prejudice. My desire 
still is the welfare of the Society which secured my work 
by confiscation under conditions not to be forgotten. 

Yours truly. 

Flora Adams Darling, 

Foiindcr-Gciieral. 

At the same date I was requested to make a 
statement to the President-General Mrs. Yardley, D. R., 
who desired to know the facts and detail regarding the 
original proposal of November, 1891, known as "The 
Darling Compromise." 

I sent Mrs. Yardley a long letter on April 22, 1896, 
fully explaining the efforts that had been made, 
looking to a compromise. This letter being official, 
is on record with the Daughters of the Revolution. 

New York City, April 22, '96. 
To the President-General Daughters of the Revolution, 
Dear Madam : — 

Herein please find a copy as verified from the records — of 
the Darling Compromise — offered November, 1891, to secure 
harmony when the original Society was dissolving on account of 
a clause incorporated into the Constitution, that made the organ- 
ization collateral by admitting under the " Mother of a Patriot"' 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 139 

clause, instead of through lineal descent as required in the Con- 
stitution of 1890. 

The compromise offered then is the basis of action now, 
and while time has effected changes, I re-submit this document 
to show my official position then and my desire now, with the 
recorded facts of that date of dissolution when Miss Desha, 
Miss Washington, et al. insisted upon incorporating the clause 
against my most earnest protest and also refused to recognize 
State Regents. There was great dissatisfaction, and general 
revolt followed. New York had accepted and organized upon 
lineal lines under me — First Vice-President-General in charge 
of organization, duly elected October 11. 1890, as founder of the 
National Society, with full power to appoint officers for the 
initial year in State and National Societies. Mrs. Edward P. 
Steers, Mrs. Roger A. Pryor, were the first two Regents ap- 
pointed in New York by me. One to organize a chapter below 
the Park, one above ; Mrs. Piyor, Regent of the New York City 
Chapter, Mrs. Steers of the Harlem Chapter. Both chapters 
were duly admitted and recognized by the National Board at 
Washington. I assured all interested, especially Miss Louise 
Ward McAlister, the first State Regent of New York that the 
collateral clause "A Mother of a Patriot" would not be 
accepted at the May meeting. The Constitutional Committee 
appointed by me to frame a permanent instrument from the one 
adopted for temporary use during initial organization, were as 
desirous for a Hneal society as we were. I, however, failed in my 
judgment of the Board. The offending clause was adopted 
May, 1891. I withdrew from the Society June 18, 1891, i. e. as 
an officer of organization, and forbade the use of my name or any 
influence I might have to aid the founding of a collateral Society. 
At that meeting State Regents were rejected, and the power 
centralized in a Local Board at Washington. 

Mrs. Steers named the Harlem society the " Darling 
Chapter," to carry out the original ideas of the founder, and 
every member of her chapter concurred in the desire to estab 
lish State societies, with only lineal descendants eligible for 



I40 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

admission. The Darling Chapter, D. A. R., took the initial 
step, New Jersey followed, also the Long Island Chapter. The 
Lone Star of Texas, and a large individual membership, refused 
to send their application blanks to the National Board. Up to 
the date of my withdrawal from the organizing work of the 
D. A. R., I had passed upon five hundred and forty papers, 
and not one was collateral. Mrs. Roger A. Pryor's national 
number at that date was 128. I am told it is No. i now. She 
was given my number. I claimed then, as I do now, that No. i 
should have been held for the President-General for all time. 
The lineal members left the society individually, and whole 
chapters resigned. I claimed then the decision of the Board 
at Washington at that date was legal and well taken. "States 
and Chapters could not take their names with them," and as a 
consequence, the name of the Darling Chapter is still a part of 
the D. A. R. Mrs. Steers' society accepted the title Colonial 
Chapter. The General Society was incorporated August, 1891, 
as Daughters of the Revolution. We adopted the buff and 
blue, also a new seal, as I permitted the D. A. R. to retain 
the one selected by me, A Woman at the Wlieel ; also the 
motto selected by me, "Home and Country." The D. A. R. 
prefixing Liberty (to) Home and Country. 

All of this was done with regret, in the full belief adjust- 
ment would follow. Directly the charter was obtained, and the 
Adam's Magazine, which was official exponent of the D. A. 
R., was retained, and subsequently the title was changed to 
"Daughters of the Revolution Magazine." All this accom- 
plished with legal deliberation, and consummated September 
21, 1 89 1. As the movement augmented, the chasm widened. 
Sons of the patriot societies expressed deprecation, and felt 
there was no place for two societies, and both Mrs. Harrison 
(whom I had appointed and the Board confirmed) and myself 
were urged to effect compromise to establish union, before the 
Daughters of the Revolution should organize formally, Novem- 
ber 25, 1891, the day selected for annual anniversary of the 
new society. This plan was perfectly agreeable to me if the 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 141 

"Mother of a Patriot " clause should be eliminated from the new 
Constitution. 

Mrs. Harrison proposed and called a peace meeting Octo- 
ber 5, 1 89 1, which proved a failure, for in the meantime, 
August I, a press dispatch, emanating from "the Board," sent 
out a damaging official statement : " Mrs. Darling not eligible 
to her own Society." "It is found Mrs. Darhng is a collateral, 
not a lineal descendant of a patriot." "Mrs. Darhng Deposed 
From Office," when I had resigned the office June 1 8th, and 
this was sent out August ist. This false assertion caused the 
white dove of peace to become an eagle. The separation 
became permanent and much bitterness followed. 

I submitted the Darling Compromise November 8th, 1891. 
I sent a copy to Mrs. Harrison, P. G. D. A. R., to Mrs. Steers, 
et al. Both Boards refused to consider "Compromise," both 
refused to make a unity of units. I urged a general alliance of 
Patriotic Hereditary Societies, under different names, colors and 
seals, united in general fraternity with love of liberty, home and 
countiy. The following is a certified copy of the Compromise : 
To Mrs. Harrison, President-General D. A. R. : 

In view of compromise to establish peace and harmony 
upon great and equitable principles, I make the following the 
basis to secure desired results : 

While I have fixed ideas and opinions of honor and duty 
to accomphsh an end greatly desired, I can make a sacrifice of 
personal feelings to secure peace. 

The Darling Compromise. 
Novenibcry i8gi. 
First. — The President of the National Society shall be the 
wife of the President of the United States during his term of 
office. 

I selected you to carry out this idea in the full belief it 
would prove a cement of peace, and I still believe one who occu- 
pies the highest executive position can unite broken chains, with 
enduring permanency, and secure the welfare of a United 



142 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Society. Further, at the expiration of your term and ot my 
term of office, as heads of the "two factions," as we are now 
termed, that we be made honorary President-Generals with ex- 
officio recognition, as set forth in the Constitution of the D. R. 
and at the date of organization of the D. A. R. 

Second. — By special act retain the collateral numbers admit- 
ted under the '* Mother of a Patriot " clause, giving such mem- 
bers a constitutional yet distinctive place and badge, since 
they were admitted under constitutional action. There are none 
to provide for in the society I represent, the "Daughters of the 
Revolution." 

Third. — Adopt a constitutional amendment based on strict 
lineal descent, also recognizing State Regents and State Societies 
by admitting the president of each State society a member of 
the National Board of Management (as set forth in the original 
Constitution) and if a State president cannot be present that a 
legal person shall be admitted to secure a full vote of the so- 
ciety, and thus make amendments in accordance with the views 
of the majority, not of a few executive officers (as in the action 
of July 31, 1891). 

Fourth. — I also recommend that all the present officers be 
retained for another term, and that October i ith continue the 
anniversary date of the society. 

Fifth. — As founder of the United States Daughters 18 12, 
a sequence of 1776, instituted, incorporated and organized Sep- 
tember 13th, 1 89 1, I suggest that it be made an ally of its 
elder sister yet independent in government (as set forth in the 
Constitution). 

Sixth. — That the Adams Magazine be continued the ex- 
ponent of the United Societies, and all official matter for publi- 
cation be submitted to the Curator of the National Society for 
approbation. 

Seventh. — As founder and organizer of these Societies, that 
my wishes regarding the disturbers of our peace shall be re- 
garded, and the name of Mr. William O. McDowell be dropped 
from the Society of Daughters (I have in my possession his ap- 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 143 

plication blank verified for admission which he has publicly de- 
nied) ; that as the slander was aided and abetted by the Board 
publicly, it shall be publicly refuted Feb. 22, in General Con- 
gress and the action placed on the files of the Society. 
And further : 

If these conditions are accepted I will waive all personal 
feeling and attend the National Congress Feb. 22nd, 1892,(33 
requested) and do all in my power to secure unity and friend- 
ship — if declined we part company. 
Yours truly. 

Flora Adams Darling. 

Founder and Director-General. 
D. A. R. National Society, 1890. 
D. R. State Societies, 1891. 
United States Daughters, 1S12, 1891. 
United States Daughters, 1776-1812, 1891. 
Detroit, Michigan, 

November 8th, 1892. 

In following the succes.s of the Orders, there per- 
haps is as little Dead Sea fruit as most organi- 
zations record, but whether it be bitter or sweet, it is 
an imperative demand that Truth should be the 
cornerstone of the history of the Societies. 

In the next chapter I will set forth the facts of 
the founding as known to me, and in the comparative 
history of the origin and organization of the Alpha 
Society of the great Patriotic Hereditary Societies 
allow people and press to pronounce the verdict. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE DESHA PAMPHLET. 

WITHOUT authority, Miss Mary Desha published 
in July, 1 89 1, a sixteen-page pamphlet purport- 
ing to be "The True Story of the Origin of the 
Societ}^ of the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion." This pamphlet emanated from the headquar- 
ters of the Society in Washington, and was distributed 
to the regents and of&cers in all States. It was hoped 
by the author and those who aided her in scattering 
the paper, that it would be accepted as conclusive, and 
put a stop to controversy over the question of the 
founding of the Society. 

This pamphlet was such a puerile attempt at jus- 
tifying the usurpations of the pretended founders, 
that it did not need a word from me or from those 
officers of the Society who knew the facts, to condemn 
it to oblivion. The earlier date of the organization 
of the Society, which Miss Desha alleges to have been 
in August, but which date she fails to specif}-, has 
been waved aside by the Society, and the one which I 
have always maintained, October 11, 1890, has been 
accorded permanent official recognition b}'- the Daugh- 
ters of the American Revolution as the time of their 
organization. From this all important matter of 
establishing the date of organization, down to the 
most insignificant detail, the statements in the Desha 
pamphlet stand repudiated by the official records of 
the D. A. R. Society — as I have them to the date of my 
resignation — and as the records of the Society show 
since that date. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 145 

I resurrect this pamplilet — the last missile to be 
thrown in the modern revolution — because in writing 
this history I desire to state facts as they exist. This 
paper was issued as the basis upon which the pre- 
tenders rest their claim to the founding of the Society. 
It therefore has a certain historic interest in connec- 
tion with the D. A. R. It is the soul of the press 
dispatch surreptitiously issued in July, 1891. Miss 
Desha's attempt to galvanize flagrant falsehood and 
base misrepresentation shall be printed in its entirety, 
and answered section by section. The injustice of 
publishing only garbled extracts, as was done in the 
case of my letters, shall not influence me to retaliate 
in measure. The comparative history here repre- 
sented, must set at rest all discussion as to the origin 
and organization of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution, for in place of unsubstantiated assertions 
in the pamphlet, I offer the documentary proof that 
has appeared in the previous chapters, summarized to 
show the inevitable sequence of events that led up to, 
and resulted in, the founding of the Society by me, on 
October 11, 1890. 

THE DESHA PAMPHLET. 

THE TRUE STORY OF THE ORIGIN OF THE NATIONAL 
SOCIETY OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION. 

Several incorrect statements concerning the origin of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution having been pubhshed, 
it is deemed proper that a true account should now be given. 
The Society cannot be considered as a safe custodian of the 
records of the past if it allows to pass unchallenged false mis- 
representations in regard to the present. 

On the 1 3th of July, 1890, a letter appeared in the Washing- 
ton Post, written by Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood, giving an account 



146 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

of Hannah Arnettand her patriotic acts during the darkest days 
of the Revolution. Referring to the fact that the "Sons" had 
excluded women from their Society, she asked why that was 
done in a society founded to commemorate events in which 
women had so bravely borne their part. On July 2 1st a 
letter from William O. McDowell, of New Jersey, was published, 
in which he said that he was a great-grandson of Hannah Arnett, 
and called on the women of America to form a society of their 
own since they had been excluded from the Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution at a meeting held in Louisville, 
Ky., April 30th, 1890. 

Four Washington women answered the call — some of 
them by return mail — Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. Hannah McL. 
Wolff, Miss Eugenia Washington and Mrs. Louise Walcott 
Knowlton-Brown. These letters told Mr. McDowell of the 
writers' gratitude that one of the Sons remembered " that this 
world was made for women, too," of their delight that at last 
they were to have an opportunity to wear the ''blue rosette" 
and be recognized as co-workers ; of their desire to help "keep 
green " the memory of the women as well as the men of the 
Revolution ; of their unlimited capacity for work, and asked — 
"What can we do?" In a few days a reply was received from 
Mr. McDowell asking that a meeting be held immediately, 
officers elected, and arrangements made for a grand meeting to 
be held on the iitli of October, the Anniversary of the Dis- 
covery of America — a date particularly appropriate for the 
organization of a society of women, as it was to a woman's 
generosity and wisdom that Columbus was indebted for the 
means to fit out his fleet for his perilous voyage. 

In this introduction Miss Deslia states that it 
was deemed proper that the true story of the origin 
of the Society be given. She writes an exhaustive 
"story" ; yet fails to indicate who deemed it proper 
for her to be selected for the work of establishing the 
truth. She permitted the pamphlet to have all the 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 147 

appearances of an official document, by having it sent 
from the headquarters in Washington ; but she did 
not actually have the authority of the Society. It 
would b2 interesting to read the letter of Mr. McDow- 
ell's which is supposed to have inspired the answers 
from four Washington women. It has often been re- 
ferred to, but has never been reproduced. July 13, 
1890, is the date on which Mrs. Lockwood's article ap- 
peared. This was nearly three months after the 
meeting of Miss Washington, Mrs. English and my- 
self, at the home of Mrs. English, on Sunday, April 
29th, 1S90, when we decided to organize the Daughters 
of the American Revolution. I had written to Dr. Wil- 
liam Seward Webb, in June, and Mr. McDowell had 
seen my letter, before his " call '' is said to have been 
issued. 

Mrs. Brown offered her house for the meeting, and Miss 
Desha sent out the invitations. The ladies invited were : 
Miss Alice E. Meikleham, great-granddaughter of Thomas 
Jefferson ; Miss Eugenia Washington, great-granddaughter of 
Col. Samuel Washington ; and gieat-neice of Gen. George 
Washington; Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, great-granddaughter 
of Col. John Hardin, who was complimented for gallantry on 
the field at the battle of Saratoga; Mrs Wm. C. P. Breckin- 
ridge, great-granddaughter of Col. Isaac Bledsoe and great- 
grandniece of Gen. John Montgomery ; Miss S. P.Breckinridge, 
her daughter, who was also great-granddaughter of At- 
torney-General John Breckinridge of Jefferson's Cabinet, 
and great-granddaughter of Gen. William Campbell of 
Kings Mountain fame ; Miss Virginia Grisby, great-grand- 
daughter of Gen. Isaac Shelby, one of the heroes of Kings 
Mountain, first Governor of Kentucky, and Commander of the 
Kentucky Troops in the War of 1812; Miss Sallie Norvell, 
granddaughter of the great John Sjvier, of Tennessee ; Mrs. 
Elizabeth Guion Pierson, granddaughter of Caj)t. Isaac Guion ; 



148 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Mrs. Catherine Finnell Madeira, great-granddaughter of Lieut. 
John Rieley, an ofificer in a Pennsylvania Regiment and gallant 
soldier, and Mrs. H. McL. Wolff, great-great-granddaughter of 
Hannah Arnett. All of these ladies, with the exception of Miss 
Meikleham, who was out of the city, expressed interest and 
promised to be present, if possible. At that meeting it was 
decided to postpone any action until the early fall, when " every 
one " would get home again, and Miss Desha was requested to 
inform Mr. McDowell of that decision. This letter was written 
July 28. 

Miss Eugenia Washington wrote me at tlie time 
of the meeting at Mrs. Brown's, to request that I join 
in a proposed society. It was not the D. A. R., 
but the Wimodaughsis. She gave me full particulars 
and assured me that it would be a success, as it was 
expected that many prominent women would affiliate. 
She wrote that she had taken " stock " in the Society, 
the shares being $5.00 each. In verification of the 
statement that the society formed by Miss Desha and 
her friends, Mrs. Lockwood and Mrs. Walworth, was 
a social organization for women, I print here the 
names of the women who were asked by her to come 
into the Daughters of the American Revolution, in a 
body, on October 11, two days after the Wimodaughsis 
was organized. The list was prepared for me by Miss 
Desha . Her letter is in my possession. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 



149 




150 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Mrs. C. R. Breckinridge, 218 North Capital St. 

Mrs. Catherine Madeira, 1006, Mass. Ave., N. W. 

Mrs. Susan Preston Grigsby, 1415 20tli St., N. W. 

Mrs. Throckmorton, Pension Office. 

Mrs. Twiggs, " " 

Mrs. Saunders, " " 

Mrs. Whipple, 

Mrs. Morgan, " " 

Mrs. Pearson, " " 

Mrs. Stokes, " " 

Mrs. Kay, 

Miss Tails, 

Mrs. Pride, 141720th St., N. W. 

Mrs. B. F. Robinson, 1336 R St., N. W. 

Miss Sarah N. Green, 1102 R St., N. W. 

At the meeting at Mrs. Brown's no definite steps 
were taken and the date of organization of the Wimo- 
daughsis was set for October 9, 1890. 

Washington, D. C, July 28, 1890, 
Wm. O. McDowell. 

My Dear Sir : I notified the following ladies of the meeting 
at the home of Mrs. Brown : My sister, Mrs. Wm. C. P. Breck- 
inridge ; her daughter, Miss S. P. Breckinridge, who is the 
great-granddaughter of Gen. Wm. Campbell, of Kings Moun- 
tain fame ; Miss Eugenia Washington, Miss Grigsby, who is the 
great-granddaughter of Isaac Shelby; Miss Meikleham, who is 
the great-granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson, a granddaughter of 
John Sevier, of Tennessee ; Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, and 
several others. The rain prevented several of them from going, 
but those who were there were very enthusiastic, but they all 
thought it would be impossible to do anything until fall. Mrs. 
Brown and Mrs. Wolff leave the city on Thursday, and a great 
many people who will be interested are already gone. Wash- 
ington is the deadest place in the United States in summer. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 151 

The ladies asked me to tell you that they would be dehghted 
to meet you in October. In the meantime we will be looking 
up the names of as many people as possible. Many people have 
asked if it would be necessary to furnish legal proof, and if the 
descent must be lineal. I have several friends who had dis- 
tinguished uncles. 

I sent you yesterday a circular of our Society organized for 
the purpose of building a club-house for women. In talking it 
over to-night we thought it would be a delightful idea for the 
Daughters of the American Revolution to devote themselves to 
one department, and try to form an historical library and a pic- 
ture gallery of the wives of the Presidents. What do you think 
of that? You know that we have been limited for so long to 
orphan asylums and hospitals, that in this, the dawn of our free- 
dom, we are "taking to" historical research and the study of 
parliamentary law, and to the founding of scholarships, libraries, 
art galleries and gymnasiums. 

I did not intend to write but a few words, but from the 
fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh. 

With great respect for the only man in America who had 
the gallantry to extend the right hand of fellowship to the 
Daughters of the Revolution, I am. 

Your friend, 

Mary Desha. 

At the organization meeting of the Wimo- 
daiighsis Mr. McDowell was present. He was the show- 
man at the meeting. I met him there for the first 
time. We had been in communication since the date 
of my writing to President Webb, in June. When 
we met our conversation was devoted to discussing 
the meeting of the Daughters of the American Revo- 
lution, which was to be held two days later. In Miss 
Desha's letter the words, "I sent you yesterday a cir- 
cular of our Society organized for the purpose of 



152 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

building a club-house for women," indicates the man- 
ner in which the purposes of the D. A. R. and those 
of the Wimodaughsis were made to dovetail, so as to 
reconcile the pretenders' stor}^ of the founding. At 
the time of my " arrogant usurpation," it would have 
been a most effective way to squelch me, had the docu- 
ments, letters and other proof, which Miss Desha 
claims to possess, been placed in evidence. It took 
time and careful study to evolve the "true story 
of the origin" ; and the light of truth when it fell on 
the story destroyed it, as the light of day will destroy 
an exposed plate. The story would have been better 
developed in the dark room. It might' then have had 
a shadow of truth. 

Soon an answer came bearing the date of July 30, 1890, 
accompanied with a full plan of organization, a number of appli- 
cation blanks, a Constitution and a beautifully bound blank 
book for the Constitution when it had been amended and 
approved by the ladies who would form the National Society; 
also Mr. McDowell's application for membership and a check 
for his initiation fees and dues. This check and Constitution are 
now in the hands of the proper officers, and are to be preserved 
among the archives ot the Society. Immediately upon receipt 
of this package a meeting was called to be held in the rooms of 
Mrs. Walworth, at the Langham, August 9, 1890. Most of the 
ladies before mentioned were prevented by absence from the 
city, sickness, and bad weather from attending, but sent letters 
expressing interest and promising active co-operation in the fall. 

The application of Mr. McDowell for membership 
in the Daughters is in my possession, and ^facsimile 
of it appears in this chapter. 

The check was never cashed, and was placed in 
the custodianship of A. Howard Clark. 

The Constitution of the Daughters of the Ameri- 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 153 

can Revolution, as adopted b}^ the Society at the 
meeting of October 11, 1890, was drafted by me, and 
the copy read and adopted, was written in the hand- 
writing of Mr. Gill. The original is now in my pos- 
session. This Constitution I printed in full in a pre- 
vious chapter. 

At that meeting it was decided that the Society in Wash- 
ington should be the National Society, that in order to make a 
beginning Mrs. Wahvorth should be Secretary, Miss Washington 
should be Registrar, Mrs. Levi P. Morton should be asked to 
be Treasurer, and Mrs. Mary Orr Earle, Mrs. Hannah McL. 
Wolff, Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, Mrs. Louise Walcott K. 
Brown, Miss Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge, Miss Virginia 
Shelby Grigsby, and Miss Mary Desha, should form a Board of 
Managers. Mrs. Walworth, Miss Washington, and Miss Desha 
accepted the appointments and immediately went to woik. 

The ladies mentioned in this paragraph were all 
asked to become members of the Wimodaughsis. 
Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Cabell informed me that they 
had declined to hold ofi&ce or even become members. 
Mrs. Morton also declined. 

Miss Breckinridge writes under date of August 19, 1890. 
My Dear Mrs Walworth : 

My aunt. Miss Desha, informs me that I was elected a 
member of the Executive Board of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, and I wish at once to signify my 
willingness to sen,'e and my appreciation of the honor of the 
appointment. Hoping that I may be able to be of service, 
I am, 

Very sincerely, 

SoPHONiSBA Preston Breckinridge. 

Miss Breckinridge was one of the original mem- 
bers of the Wimodaughsis. Her name does not 



154 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

appear as one of tlie charter members of the D. A. 
R., as shown by the list published from the official 
record in Chapter I. 

Miss Virginia Shelby Grigsby replied at the same time, and 
in almost the same words. Mrs. Earle accepted the position 
and promised to send the application blanks, which were to be 
immediately printed, to friends in South Carolina. Mrs. Brown 
and Mrs. Wolff being out of town did not reply at once, but 
were counted in as members. Letters were sent to Mrs. 
Harrison and Mrs. Dimmick, who signified their intention of 
becoming members as soon as they could consult with Dr. 
Scott, who knew all about the service of their Revolutionary 
ancestors. A letter was written to Mrs. Roger A. Pryor. She 
replied under date of August 22, 1890: "My own people 
fought and bled in the War for Independence, and my daugh- 
ters are eligible through their father's family." 

Mrs. Pryor had written the following letter to Mr. 
McDowell, on July 27 : 

Capon Springs, W. Va., July 27, 1890. 
My Dear Mr. McDowell : 

I am much interested inthe paper,for which I presume I am 
indebted to you, in which you propose to organize the Daugh- 
ters of the Revolution. You may rely upon my cordial sup- 
port. I present also the names of my daughters, Mrs. Arthur 
Page Brown and Miss Pryor 

Sincerely, 

Sara A. Pryor. 

I had the honor and privilege of securing the ac- 
ceptance of Mrs. Harrison and her niece Miss Dim- 
mick (now Mrs. Benjamin Harrison). Dr. Scott fur- 
nished me with the records of the Scott family. The 
letters which were sent out from Washington during 
July and August, were written under my supervision. 
Miss Desha, whom Miss Washington had interested 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 155 

in the D. A. R., was in constant communication with 
me, and had sent me letters detailing the work that 
was being done at the capital, in anticipation of the 
meeting of October nth. 

I had secured the valued services of Dr. G. Brown 
Goode. The following letter written three days be- 
fore the meeting of Oct. nth, shows his interest in 
my work, and his anxiety regarding the eligibility 

clause. 

Smithsonian Institute, Washington, 
Oct. 8, 1890. 
Mrs. Darling, 

Dear Madam : 
I am sorry to have failed to see you. I came in from the 
country especially on account of your promised call. I was in 
before noon, but a few minutes too late. 

I am much interested in the success of your organization, 
and should have liked to talk to you about it. Let me beg of 
you, above all things, if you have its permanent welfare' at 
heart, to be exceedingly strict in your interpretations, or rather 
in the enforcement of the eligibility qualificatici^s. 

I shall have the honor of callmg to see you in a few days. 
Yours sincerely, 

G. Browne Goode. 

Mr. McDowell wrote to me and asked that I in- 
vite Mrs. Roger A. Pryor to become a member. I 
not onh^ invited her to become a member, but I ap- 
pointed her regent of the New York City Chapter. It 
was not until Januar}-, 1891, that Mrs. Pr3'or and her 
daughter joined the Society. The time to have pro- 
duced this letter of Mrs. Pryor's was during the heat 
of battle. If this letter does not refer to the Wimo- 
daughsis it is not too late, even now to produce it in 
evidence. 



156 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Mrs. Darling accepted in these words, in a letter to Miss 
Washington : 

CuLPEPER, Va., August 30, 1890. 

***** 

I thank you for suggesting my name as one of the Board of 
Managers, which I accept, but remember my personal affliction 
makes it impossible for me to be an active Vice-President, " for 
the patriots in Heaven could hear any motion that I could 
hear," I really have no aspirations or qualifications for any 
office of responsibility, and wish others more qualified to fill the 
offices, but if there is a position for which I am qualified it is 
that of Historian. / am glad to become a member of the 
Washington Society. I belong to the Nation, and am glad to 
enter the fold of the Capital. As our Society is the first let it 
be made the Mother House, and State Societies regard us as 
the head. 

Sincerely, 

Flora Adams Darling. 

Tliis is one of my letters wliicli was not printed 
in full. If this were done it would prove to be a letter 
referring to tHe Wimodauglisis. I liave never seen 
any of my letters produced in evidence. Now, as at 
all times since the formation of the Society, I am 
ready to present my case before competent judges and 
accompany my statements with the documents I 
possess. This invitation has never been accepted by 
Miss Desha or any of the other members who dispute 
my right as Founder. 

Thus it will be seen that at least fifteen ladies were members 
of the Society before Mrs. Darling entered it. 

Letters were written to Virginia, Kentucky, and South Caro- 
lina, and blanks distributed among the ladies in the Depart- 
ments, among whom were found descendants of some of the 
most distinsfuished families in America. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 157 

The blanks that were sent ont during August 
were some of the number I had obtained from the 
Sons. The only ones that were printed for the 
Daughters were those I got on my arrival in Wash- 
ington, October 4, and for which I paid. 

The following letter to Mr. McDowell gives an account of 
the meeting at the Langham : 

Washington, D. C, August 17, 1890. 
My Dear Mr. McDowell: * * * * 

I have postponed writing to you until I had something to tell. 
I took the Constitution and papers you sent to Mrs. Walworth 
and after reading them over we decided to call a meeting at the 
Langham, where Mrs. Walworth lives. Only a few ladies came, 
but we organized and elected officers. Miss Eugenia Washing- 
ton was elected Registrar, Mrs. Walworth Secretary ; Mrs. Levi 
P. Morton Treasurer. The Executive Committee consisted of 
the following ladies : Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, Miss Grigsby, 
Mrs. Wm. Earle, Miss S. P. Breckinridge, Mrs. Wolff, Mrs. 
Brown, and myself I am acting as Secretary because Mrs. 
Walworth is too tired to do it. The departments are filled with 
women descended from the most distinguished officers of the 
Revolution. I found it very slow work getting around to them 
individually, and I put the inclosed notice in yesterday and 
to-day's papers. By the first of September most people will be 
home and we will try to have a meeting of all the members. 
Thanking you for all your interest and kindness, and hoping to 
see you soon in Washington, I am 

Your friend, 

Mary Desha, 

I have written to Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Levi P. Morton, 
and Miss Washington is sending notices to a great many friends. 
I understand that the Sons are talking ot considering the ques- 
tion of our admission to their Society in February. I am per- 
fectly appalled at their sublime arrogance. I sent Gen. Wright 



IS8 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

word that by February our Society would equal theirs and we 
would treat with them as equals and not inferiors. M. D. 

This letter refers totheWimodauglisis. The officers 
named were those chosen by that society and not for 
the D. A. R. As will be observed I was among the 
members of the society, and was made chairman of 
the Executive Board. It was this appointment to the 
Board of the Wimodaughsis to which I made reference 
in my letter to Miss Washington. 

After the Constitution had been revised, the fees reduced 
from ^5 to ;^3, life memberships from ^50 to $2^, a copy was 
sent to members of the Board for their criticism. Mrs. Darling 
said in a letter to Miss Washington, September 12: "The 
Constitution meets .my approval in every particular. If it is 
considered desirable, I can get it published in the GotJiam." 

Miss Washington and Miss Desha went to the Smithsonian, 
saw Mr. Clark, the Assistant-Registrar of the Sons, who very 
kindly gave up his morning to them, advising them what steps 
to take to avoid the mistakes the Sons had made in their organi- 
zation, suggesting the changes necessary to make the application 
blanks suitable for a National Society and giving them good 
advice on many other subjects about which they needed infor- 
mation. Dr. Goode was not in, but wrote a most kind and cor- 
dial letter on his return, promising to assist the ladies in any 
way in his power. This promise he has since made good, 
assisting them by putting at their service his library, giving them 
the very best advice, helping them over rough places, always 
kind, considerate and thoughtful. 

On September 18, 1890, three hundred blanks were printed, 
and also the following circulars which were small enough to be 
sent in a letter: 

In my letter to Miss Washington I wrote regard- 
ing both the Daughters of the American Revolution 
and the Wimodaughsis. The Constitution of the 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 159 

latter society was sent to me and I read and returned 
it with favorable comment. In the October issue of 
the Gotham Monthly a complete account of the D. A.R. 
was printed. I had the privilege of the columns of this 
magazine and offered to utilize them for the benefit 
of the Wimodaughsis as I was doing for the D. A. R. 

Name. 

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 
Objects : 

To perpetuate the memory and spirit of the women 

and men of the Revolutionary period. 
To collect and preserve historical and biographical 
records, documents and relics, and to obtain por- 
traits of eminent American women. 
Initiation, $1.00. Annual, ^2.00. Life membership, 1^25.00. 

And just here it should not be forgotten that one of the 
earliest and most enthusiastic members of the Society was Mrs. 
Margaret Hetzel, Secretary of the " Mary Washington 
Memorial Association." She and her daughter, Miss Sue 
Hetzel, have probably been the cause of more distinguished 
people becoming members than any other two people in the 
Society. The application blanks were distributed, letters 
written, friends interviewed, notices put in all papers that Miss 
Washington was the Registrar and all applications should be 
sent to her, and preparations made for a large mass meeting in 
one of the hotels in the early fall, when, on the 7th day of 
October, the following letter was received: 

The blanks and circulars were printed at the 
same time ; delivered to me and paid for by me. 

The "preparations for a large mass meeting," 
never were made by Miss Washington or anyone else. 
The meeting of October i ith, was called by me. I sent 
invitations to fifty ladies, and every one who attended 



j60 founding of the DAUGHTERS. 

tlie organizing meeting of the D. A. R. was present on 
my personal invitation. 

This was an acknowledged fact on October ii» 
1890, it is a fact to-day ; al though falsified statements 
have been given credence since the Board of 1891 
re-wrote the history of the organization, to suit their 
purposes. 

Strathmore Arms, Washington, D. C. 
October 7th, 1890. 
My Dear Miss Desha : 

Mr. McDowell will be with me at this hotel to organize 
the National Society of the Daughters of the Revolution, 
October 1 1, 2 P. M. It is our joint request that you accept the 
office of President of the Board of Managers of the Society. 
We know of no one better equipped to fill the position than 
yourself and trust you will be pleased to accept. 

Sincerely, 

Flora Adams Darling. 

A somewhat similar letter was written to Mrs. Walworth ; 
Miss Washington was absent. Perfectly astounded at this sud- 
den decapitation, but* thinking that Mr. McDowell must have 
some good reason for such a seemingly discourteous proceed- 
ing, feeling that it was more important that the Society be har- 
moniously started on its broader career than they should be 
recognized as leaders, these ladies determined to submit to what 
they supposed was the wish of Mr. McDowell, but under cer- 
tain conditions however ; they informed Mrs. Darling that it 
would be impossible to organize the Society of the Daughters of 
American Revolution, that it had already been done, but that 
the organization might be completed. The officers appointed, 
would no doubt be glad to resign as they had accepted the posi- 
tion not for self-aggrandizement, but to help on the work. Mrs. 
Walworth writes: "As a preHminary organization has already 
been made, it will be necessary to dissolve that in proper form, 
and with due notice to the ladies taking part in it." Miss 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. i6l 

Desha wrote that she could accept no position until the ladies 
who had been invited by her to become members of the Board 
were provided for. She also sent the Constitution and other 
papers. On October 8th, the following reply was received : 

Miss Desha and the other pretenders have not 
evinced hesitancy in seeking for honors and preferment 
since the 7th of October, 1890, and had they been of the 
opinion that I was '' grabbing the fruit of their work," 
they would not have submitted without protest. Each 
of these ladies was pleased to accept an appointment 
from my hand on October nth, and to retain office 
without a word of complaint until the attempt was 
made to amend the Constitution. Then it was that 
I took my stand for ''lineal eligibility," and thereby 
incurred their displeasure. 

The society which had undergone "a temporary 
organization" was the Wimodaughsis. It was my 
purpose to absorb it and to provide for all the ladies 
who held offices in it. Miss Desha wished to negotiate 
with me, to accept the funds of the Wimodaughsis. 
I found that it would not be practicable to unite the 
two societies ; so I made the suggestion that the 
eligible members of the Wimodaughsis come into the 
D. A. R. This met with their approval. 

The meaning of the words " Society started on its 
broader career," are intelligible when it is understood 
that the Wimodaughsis was to be merged into the D. 
A. R. with its national patriotic scope. 

My Dear Miss Desha : 

The papers just received. I shall be glad to see you Fri- 
day ; do not fail me, for Mr. McDowell is to be here to organize, 
and he desired me to appoint time and place. I did not know 
that a temporary organization had taken place, as he wrote me 
this Society would be the National Society, and asked my aid 



i62 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

after that order. I am only acting under him, I cannot be 
Vice-President, but do this to make ready for his arrival Satur- 
day. I want to confer with the originators and understand the 
work so as to have no conflict. My idea has betn to make this 
National, from which St ite Societies will spring. I cannot be 
on the Board of Managers, nor hold any other office unless 
Historian of the Order. Mr. McDowell knows this, so does 
Miss Washington. Your Board of Managers is all to be desired 
and will all have places 07i the new Board, excepting tnyself. I 
wish you would see me Thursday night instead of Friday — can 
you not? Yox you are \}i\Q. trtie head :\x\A \xv\x3,\. continue. You 
notify the ladies to be here at two o'clock on Saturday to meet 
Mr. McDowell to formally organize and confirm the temporary 
officers chosen — Mrs. Walworth, Secretary ; Miss Washington, 
Registrar; Mrs. Brown, Treasurer, and you President of the Board. 
I have submitted the names of the wives of the "Sons" for 
President and Vice-Presidents ; then the ladies you chose. 
The election may be delayed, but they can be nominated. 
This can be decided upon by Mr. McDowell wJio is the " Pope'' 
for one year. Please know that all your plans are approved. 

Sincerely, 

Flora Adams Darling. 

The italicized words, " I did not knozv that a tem- 
porary organization had taken place^'' wbicli occur in 
my letter, liad reference to the meeting of the Wimo- 
daughsis Society held on August 9th. Mr. McDowell 
was interested in the society, and had held out prom- 
ises to its members to get them recognized at the 
Columbian Exposition. As he was to be the adviser in 
the D. a, R., and had arranged with me to be present 
at the organization, October nth, I felt and wrote that 
he should be regarded " Pope." All \vould have gone 
smoothly had he not aspired to become a " Daughter." 

The Board of Managers of the Wimodaughsis 
was submitted to me, and I wrote as quoted that they 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 163 

were satisfactory and would be given places in the 
D. A. R. 

In a letter to Mr. McDowell, written by Mrs. Darling, these 
words occur : " The meantime have everything perfected accord- 
ing to your ideas. I write you frankly, for I regard you the 
' Head-centre ' and hope we shall be held accountable to the 
officers of the Sons for out good behavior. You will observe I am 
a disciple of the old school. I believe in men for the heads of offices 
— women for pleasure. Others think differenth', but let me 
enjoy the freedom of advising with you from my point of view. 
I want you to place my name in your Book of Memory for 
future reference. I do not expect to return to Washington before 
October. I hope you can delay your coming until that date. 
Still I do not expect to interfere with plans arranged. I shall be 
glad to co-operate with you, in an organization in which we both 
are interested, for the honor of our country." 

This was the condition of affairs when the n/^eting of 
October i ith was held. Mr. McDowell came, presided and was 
duly considered the " Pope and He;ia-centre." Miss Desha 
was elected Secretary /)r^ tern. On October i8th an adjourned 
meeting was held, Mrs. Wm. D. Cabell presided. Mr. McDowell 
was in the background. Mr. Wilson L. Gill (who had seen the 
notice of the meeting in the papers, had called, introduced him- 
self to Mrs. Darling, had been invited by Mr. McDowell to the 
first meeting) in one short week had taken the helm in hand 
" whence all our woes." After his advent Mr. McDowell was 
decapitated, deposed. From "Pope and Head-centre" he 
became, in the words of Mrs. Darling, " My creation." It is 
due to Mr. McDowell to state that he came to Washington think- 
ing there was perfect harmony among the ladies, not intending 
to give one any preference above the other, and was very much 
astounded when accused of discourtesy. He states that he did 
not appoint Mrs. Darling and was under the impression that she 
was acting as a member of the Executive Committee. 

Mr. McDowell was aware of tbe fact that the 



i64 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Wimodauglisis Society liad been taken into tlie D. A. 
R. on October nth. In my letter I stated that I did 
not want to interfere witb tbe plans tbat bad been 
arranged for the meeting of October 9tb. When tbe 
meeting of October iitb was beld and my appoint- 
ment of of&cers was approved, tbere was not a word of 
protest. Certainly Mr. McDowell would not have per- 
mitted me to appropriate the powers of Founder had 
he been the originator of the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution. His letters, which will appear in 
another place in this chapter, all bearing dates after 
the meeting of October nth, are proof that he did not 
consider me an usurper. 

His "decapitation" resulted from the fact that I 
would not consent to his becoming a "Daughter," and 
that I would not accede to the proposal to have the 
seal of the Society — a cradle with Baby McKee 
in it. 

The plain statement of the case is this : Mr. McDowell 
suggested the movement and wrote the Constitution — the ladies 
in Washington, Mrs. Ellen Hardin Walworth, Miss Eugenia 
Washington and Miss Mary Desha organized the National Society 
— preparatory to the October meeting, and appointed the original 
Executive Board. Mrs. Darhng accepted a place on that Board 
August 30, 1890. 

Having decided that it was a "good thing," she came to 
Washington, announced that she had been appointed by Mr. 
McDowell "to organize," and took possession. 

This was permitted, partly in deference to Mr. McDowell's 
supposed desire, and partly because they believed her to be 
the great-granddaughter of President John Adams, as she had 
so often stated. Having a Washington and a Jefterson, they 
were glad to welcome an Adams as a leader. The ladies enthu- 
siastically expressed it " With a Washington, an Adams, a Jefifer- 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 165 

son, a Star Spangled Banner and a brass band, we will sweep 
the country." 

The reason that she gave for Mr. McDowell's preference 
for her as "organizer" (as she afterwards stated to one of the 
ladies) was that her superior social and literary position — her 
intimate acquaintance with the inner circles of select Washington 
society enabled her to do what " Government clerks" could not 
do, although among this inferior class of beings were the 
descendants of the Washingtons, Hardins, Jeffersons, Mont- 
gomerys, and most of the leaders of ' 'j^. 

Mrs. Walworth, Miss Washington and Miss 
Desha were the organizers of the Wimodaughsis 
Society. The position I accepted was on the Board 
of this Societ}'. 

Mr. McDowell was present at the meeting of 
October 9th, and also at that of October nth. Had 
there been an}^ question of my right to act as organ- 
izer of the D. A. R., he could have been appealed to 
then and there. Miss Desha was appointed Chairman 
of the Executive Board of the D. A. Pv. by me at the 
October nth meeting, as I have before stated. Then, 
when I was obliged to remove her because of Mrs. 
Harrison's objection. Miss Desha became an insur- 
gent. Not until then was there a word of discord. 

To settle the question of my genealogy, I print 
at the close of this histor}^, a transcript of the papers 
upon which I am entitled to membership in the D. A. 
R., D. R. and U. S. D. of 1812 Societies. 

Now she styles Mr. McDowell and the ladies in the Board 
(^and this includes Mrs. Harrison) as " creatures of my making." 

In the article in the first issue of the Adams Magazine 
Mrs. Darling states that she derived her inspiration from a speech 
of Mr. Wilson L. Gill, delivered in New York in December, at 
a meeting of the New York Societ}' of the Sons. 



i66 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Before she left Washington, she stated to several ladies 
that she knew nothing of Mr. Gill until he called and intro- 
duced himself to her, after the notice had been put into the 
papers for the organization of the Daughters in October. The 
speech printed by the Adams Magazine, professing to be that 
delivered by him in December, is not the same one which he 
delivered at the New York meeting, and which was printed in 
the report of its proceedings. 

When the controversy over the founding of the 
D. A. R. was at its height, I wrote and said on every 
occasion, that, "if I was not the Founder, and had 
seized the reins of government, made appointments, 
been declared by resolution to be Founder, and had 
been elected Vice-President-General in Charge of 
Organization, the women who stood supinely by and 
permitted me to hold these powers, were in fact, 
"creatures of my making." 

This fact is still patent. In organizing and 
appointing as Founder I moved among my equals, 
and have always thought that I did so. 

If the women, who accepted offices from my hand, 
regarded me as an usurper, they cannot consider 
themselves other than the creatures of my making. 

I did not enjoy the "One Woman" power until 
they bestowed it upon me. I was Founder on Qctober 
II, 1890. I could h^ve been relegated to iht ranks 
then, had the Society so desired. History shows that 
they wished me to complete my work. 

In that same imaginative article which has been described 
" Good romance but poor history," " full of fancy, with but few 
facts," these words appear — speaking of Miss Washington Mrs. 
Darling says : "It has been our custom for most of the }'ears 
since then (the war) to spend February 22d together to honor 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 167 

the memory of Washington and Adams, and in forming the 
Society she has been to me what Hancock was to Adams." 
She seconded all my motions, and as there were but two engaged 
in the enterprise last May, we had a majority. We decided to 
invite a large number of ladies to undertake the work with us. 

Miss Washington's statement is as 'follows : " I have never 
taken dinner with Mrs. Darling on the 2 2d but three times in 
my life, and the facts about the first discussion of the 
* Daughters ' are these : 

"After the action of the 'Sons' at Louisville, excluding 
women, Mrs. Darling and I were discussing the subject and I 
said, ' Why can't we form a Society of our own ? ' Mrs. Darling 
replied, 'That is a capital idea, let's do it; you will be President 
and I Vice-President, — Washington and Adams. I will ask 
General Wright' When I next saw Mrs. Darling I asked what 
General Wright had said, and she rephed that he said ' Not now, 
wait until the Sons meet in February and see what thty will 
do ;' and I replied, 'We will do it without asking General Wright 
or the Sons either.' There the matter rested until I wrote to 
Mrs. Darling of her appointment in our Board. 

In the light of events I am glad to have this 
statement of Miss Washington's made public. 

She mentions the fact that she and I discussed 
the project of forming a society of our own. This 
occurred at the residence of Mrs. English, and in her 
presence on April 29, 1890. 

She corroborates my statement that General 
Wright was consulted. That I took the initiative ; 
wrote to prominent people in many States ; drafted the 
Constitution, and perfected the organization, must 
stand as conclusively proven by the fact that I retained 
control of the Society after its organization on October 
II, and was declared its Founder ; and by the scores 
of letters of mine which were sent to eligible women. 



i68 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

the acknowledgments of wliicli letter I liave as part 
of the archives of the Society. 

When it is remembered that Miss Washington is the great- 
grandniece of General Washington and great-granddaughter of 
Col. Samuel Washington, and that Mrs. Darling is the great- 
granddaughter of the fifth cousin of President John Adams, this 
assumption of equality, or rather superiority, is very amusing. 

The John Adams family deny her closer kinship and the 
family of General Warren can find no mention of her ancestors 
in the family tree. 

Again I refer the reader to the genealogy at the 
end of this book. If Miss Washington failed to 
recollect more than three occasions, when we dined 
together on February 22, in different years, to honor the 
memory of her illustrious kinsman, I am content to 
erase from my memory many another, which until 
now I have held in dear remembrance. 

Miss Desha suggested the design for the Seal — " the 
woman at the wheel " as being a fitting companion of the 
" minute-man at the plow." The Abigail Adams quotation was 
found by Mrs. Darling several weeks later and " fitted in," and 
the story started that the quotation had suggested the design to 
Mrs. Darling. Mrs. Walworth suggested the motto "Amor 
Patriae," which was adopted by the Society — is still preferred by 
the Society — but was arbitrarily and unlawfully changed by 
Mrs. Darling. 

This is a statement of Mrs. Darling's conduct previous to 
and for a few weeks after the October meeting, and of the false 
statements in the papers and in the Adams Magazine. 

Notwithstanding the courtesy with which the original 
organizers of the Society treated Mrs. Darling, the cordiality of 
their welcome, their overlooking the discourtesy (to call it 
nothing more) of her assuming superiority in taking possession 
of all of the honors of the Society, she has not failed, since last 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 169 

December, to traduce those ladies, accusing them of the most 
nefarious proceedings, calling them "creatures of my making" 
and threatening them with expulsion from the Society. Mr. 
McDowell, from whom she claimed her appointment, and who 
she declared " mjist be Pope for one yeary has been completely 
ignored or violently abused. With every issue of the Adams 
Magazine she has become bolder and bolder in her false asser- 
tions — more and more positive in her assumption of power. 

All this has been quietly endured, the ladies believing that 
"peace and harmony" should be preserved at almost any 
cost — until intoxicated by her own success, and emboldened 
by their silence, she has falsified history, making the pedigree of 
the Society of doubtful origin. Believing that under the 
circumstances it would be highly criminal to remain any longer 
silent, these ladies now speak, for the truth of history must be 
preserved. 



For the above article I am responsible, having obtained the 
facts therein from personal knowledge, the statements of trust- 
worthy people, and letters now in my possession. 

Mary Desha. 

Tlie seal of the Society was drawn from my 
suggestion, by Mr. Wilson L. Gill. The motto " Home 
and Country" was selected by me and met with the 
approval of the Society. 

The Abigail Adams quotation was used as a part of 
the cover design of the Adams Magazine, the official 
organ of the Society. 

Mr. Gill and I called on Miss Alice E. Meikleham, 
a great-granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson, and 
requested her to pose for the figure of the woman at 
the wheel. Mr. Gill made the sketch for the seal at 
that time and subsequently had the plates of it made. 

I print below a letter in the handvv'riting of ]\Iiss 



I70 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Desha as an ocular proof tliat she did not regard me as 
an interloper even after she had been removed from 
the office of Chairman of the Executive Board. 

My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I send these letters that you may see exactly the position 
in which I supposed I stood to the proposed National Society of 
the D. A. R. I think there must have been double-dealing 
somewhere. But it has worked out all right and I would 
rather have you for a friend than have all the honors in the 

world. 

Your friend, 

Mary Desha. 

There can be no question about Miss Desha 
having a right to consider that she had been slighted. 
I had assured her that she would be made Chairman 
and I had fulfilled my promise. That circumstances 
made it necessary for her to be deposed was some- 
thing which I could not have foreseen or prevented. 
She had sacrificed the Wimodaughsis Society, which 
she had been chiefly instrumental in forming, to bring 
its members into the D. A. R., and to have the honor 
which had been given her withdrawn, was certainly a 
matter to be deplored. 

It was not until the proposal to "capture" the D. 
A. R. Society by admitting a host of collaterals had 
been made that Miss Desha ceased to be my friend. 

I have letters of the most cordial nature from the 
officers written to me long after the organization ; and 
not until the attempt was made to insert the " Mother 
of a Patriot" clause was there any trouble. Then it was 
that I found myself placed on the defensive against the 
clique who had been admitted in a body from the 
Wimodaughsis. The fight that they have waged 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. lyt 

against me lias been bitter and incessant. It has in- 
cluded tbe use of anonymous letter-writing and 
slander. All of whicli I am able to bear knowing 
whence it comes. 

But for the purpose of giving the Daughters of 
the American Revolution and the Daughters of the 
Revolution, the true and complete history of their 
founding and organization, I have broken a long 
silence, and submit this book for their consideration. 

By electing to give the " true story of the origin " 
of the Society Miss Desha has placed herself on record, 
and has made it permissible for me to publish the 
letters I have received from her in relation to both the 
D. A. R. and the Wimodaughsis Societies. On October 
1890, I received the following letter from her: 

218 N. Capitol St., Oct. 8, 1890. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

Your satisfactory and charming letter greeted me when I 
came home to-night. I am sorry not to be able to see you 
earlier, but it is impossible for me to leave home to-night. Mrs. 
Walworth and I will call on you to-morrow afiernoon. I think 
your selection of officers is very good, and after reading your 
letter I felt all the old Revolutionary spirit revive. I am glad 
we had ancestors who "klared de kane off dis plantation." I 
am sorry that my sister and niece are in Kentucky and M;s. 
Clifton Breckinridge is in Arkansas. They are all members of my 
society. I am afraid that the office people cannot get off at two ; 
but we can organize and have the next meeting later. I sent 
you an invitation to the meeting called for to-morrow night for 
the purpose of starting the Club House for Women. Please go 
if you possibly can. 

Wishing " us" success and promising to do my level best 

for the "Daughters," 

Your friend, 

Mary Desha. 



172 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

This letter clearly shows that Miss Desha was a 
moving spirit in both societies, and that the Wimo- 
daughsis had been organized. The meeting of Octo- 
ber nth, which she feared the office people could not 
attend was, as she states, for the purpose of organizing 
the D. A. R. 

On October 24th, nearly two weeks after the date 
on which she states in her pamphlet that I found the 
society a " good thing" and took it in hand, she wrote 
me the following letter : 

218 N. Capitol St., Oct. 24, 1890. 
My Dear Mrs. Darlittg: 

I have just received the enclosed letter from Mr. McDowell. 
The "Baby McKee " part impresses me as the very quintes- 
sence of absurdity. It will make us ridiculous throughout the 
whole country. I really wish these men would leave us alone. 
He asks me to get the picture and send it to Tiffany & Co. I 
shall write him that he must excuse me from any such per- 
formances. I think it is a lovely idea to have the face of 
Abigail Adams, but the Lord deliver us from Baby McKee. 
I am glad that you are not going to mention the fact that Mr. 
McDowell drew on his imagination for his facts, for I hate to 
think that I had betrayed something that was told me in my 
own parlor. I asked Mrs. Walworth and her daughter about 
it last night, and they both remember it. So, "in the mouths 
of two witnesses " it is established. I am so glad it was a man 
instead of a woman who proposed it, glad that all the evil, 
malice and uncharitableness is among them and not among us. 
I take it as a sign that we are getting ready for our " kingdom " 
that we can organize a great Society like that of the "Daughters" 
without any friction arising from mutual jealousy. I am very 
much obliged for your invitation to visit you and appreciate it 
and you ; but owing to my having to put a day's work into a 
few hours, my visits resemble those of angels in one respect, — 
they have to be few and far between. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 



173 




o 

CO 



H 
U 
O 

O 



^ i^ J^ -^ ^-ii 



174 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

I have gone back to my first love and am vv^orking hard for 
Wimodaughsis to-day. 

With sincere respect and regard, 

Your friend, 

Mary Desha. 

This letter elucidates the Baby McKee incident ; 
also that of Abigail Adams. At the time of writing 
this letter Miss Desha did not hold the exalted opinion 
of Mr. McDowell that she manifests in the pamphlet. 

In the closing paragraph of this letter Miss Desha 
states that she has gone back to her "first love" — 
the Wimodaughsis. 

On January 17, 1891, I received the following 
letter from Mrs. Cabell, Vice-President Presiding, 

D. A. R. : 

1409 Massachusetts Avenue, 

Jan. 17, 1891 . 
My dear Mrs. Darling : 

I hope you have not attributed my delay in writing to you 
to any flagging of interest in our noble and beautiful work, or 
to the least indifference towards yourself. My excuses lie in the 
frank explanation that I have not had time to write. (You 
will remember, my dear Mrs. Darling, that I mentioned, in 
accepting the position you did me the honor to tender me, that 
I could not always command my time.) The last few weeks 
have been a period of great strain to me, and, rising at five 
o'clock and retiring at twelve, I have been unable to grapple 
with my correspondence. 

I never, however, flagged in my duty to the Daughters of 
the American Revolution, and I flatter myself that I have done 
some good work for the organization — work that will show after 
a time. 

I am greatly interested in your work in New York, and shall 
be grateful to you for keeping me informed of your progress. 
We should work in harmony and along the same line, you and 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 175 

I. You have your experience here to guide you, and to pre- 
serve you from difficulties with which you left us struggling. I 
heartily approve the policy of slow movement in the act of form- 
ing a chapter. The first point of importance in forming such 
an organization as ours is the choice of officers, and the selection 
of material for the Society itself. The Society is to become 
large, of course, and no invidious lines should be drawn or aris- 
tocratic distinctions established ; but, in the beginning, you 
must have what our colored brethren, with their natural and dis- 
tinctive discrimination call " quality folks," if the orgariization 
is ever to become attractive to that element which secures social 
success everywhere. We wish to keep our Sisterhood of 
Daughters free from entangling alliances with bands of women 
aiming at any of the "fads" of the day, and to do this we must 
entrench ourselves within the charmed barriers of Revolutionary 
descent, and of social consequence. Here we went too fast at 
first ; it is wise now to pause and consider carefully each pre- 
tension to the honor of membership, and every step before we 
take it. 

I do not approve of monthly meetings of the full Society 
— at least not in this locality. The meeting of the i-5th January, 
was indefinitely postponed and I called, instead, a meeting, the 
first meeting of the Board of Management. We went over very 
carefully the entire membership role and admitted by well-con- 
sidered roll, one hundred and ten names. Three of our officers 
have not yet proved descent. This is very serious, particularly 
in the case of the Historian-General. Cannot you, in that case, 
aid us a little ? The others can be easily arranged. Of course 
you can act only ex-officio — as we have authority — but a sugges- 
tion from you made with the fine tact distinguishing you might 
save unpleasant feeling. A graceful resignation would avoid 
much that might not be pleasant. Mrs. Hetzel has been offered 
the vacant place on the Committee of Finance ; Mrs. Field has 
been tendered the place of Vice-President, but has not yet 
replied. 

All our energies must now be directed to the 22nd of 



1/6 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

February. We shall rely upon you for the names of Regents and 
other officers to be invited from a distance, and I should like to 
have that information as early as possible. You will, I hope, be 
present. Could you not in person, or through some one stand- 
ing by you, make certain announcements of interest to the 
Society? Of course it will be in no sense a business meeting, 
but a reception and a very large one. I am taking measures to 
prevent the entrance of unauthorized persons. We shall have 
a brilliant occasion. As this is the meeting of the National 
Organization all persons qualified should be present from distant 
Chapters. Properly managed it will establish our society upon 
a pedestal — and permanently. We do not wish to be confounded 
with other organizations of women — unless indeed we join hands 
with the Mt. Vernon and the Mary Washington administra- 
tions. 

I hope your son continues to improve and that your own 

health is good. 

Sincerely and cordially yours, 

M. V. E. Cabell. 

As proof that my position in the Society of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution was unques- 
tioned, I publish a letter written by Mrs. Cabell in 
response to inquires of Mrs. Moran : 

Hotel Vendome, Boston, March 31, 1891, 

My Dear Mrs. Moran : 

Your letter of the twenty-eighth instant, has been referred 
to me by Mrs. Harrison, and I take pleasure in giving you all 
the information in my possession. The printed circular I enclose 
tells everything that is necessary to enable any lady to apply 
for membership to the Society of Daughters of the American 
Revolution. 

By our Constitution, the office of Regent is elective after 
the first year of organization; during the first year it is conferred 
by the Vice-President-General in charge of the organization of 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 177 

Chapters, Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, subject to the approval 
of the Board of Management. 

I send your letter therefore to Mrs. Darling, to whom all 
views concerning a Regency should be presented. All Chapters 
desiring to organize report to her. Any lady wishing to con- 
nect herself directly with the National Society should com- 
municate directly with one of the two Registrars-General in 
accordance with the circular. Any further assistance that I can 
give you will be cheerfully rendered on my return a few days 
hence to Washington 

Very truly yours, 

Mrs. M. V. E. Cabell. 
Vice-President Presiding, D. A. R. 

Washington, D. C, Jan. 9, 1891. 
My Dear Friend : 

I had a long talk with Mrs. Harrison in the Boston House 
this morning. She wishes us God-speed. 

I hope we have got into calm waters and we are ready to 
put shoulders to the wheel and make this the great Society of 

the age in good works. 

* * * * 

I wish I could step in for a few minutes and talk with you 
— that means be very close to you. Always remember that 
you are very near the heart of your friend, 

Mary S. Lockwood. 

This letter from one who now claims to be a 
Founder speaks volumes. 

For several months prior to and after the organi- 
zation of the D. A. R. I was in constant correspondence 
with Mr. McDowell. He recognized me as the origi- 
nator of the Society and depended upon me to keep 
him in touch with the progress of the Society. I 
regarded him as a most valuable aid for his position as 
organizer of the S. A. R. and S. R. Societies, put him 



178 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

in possession of all the details of the work I had in 
hand. Mr. McDowell did not look upon me as an 
interloper who had robbed him of his rights. In proof 
of this statement, I print letters I received from him 
during the two months following the organization of 

the D. A. R. 

Newark, N. J., Oct. 28, 1890. 
Mrs. Flora Adajus Darling, 

Strathmore Arms, \2th Si., Btw. G & H, 
Washington, D. C. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I am in receipt of your letter of October 27th, and it is 
very much more satisfactory to me, than the letter of the 25th 
that I received yesterday. I have feared from that, that you 
ladies were all at swords points. When in Washington, I was 
very favorably impressed with all the results of your work. It 
seemed to me that a hand more than human had guided in the 
selection of the Board of Officers. With Mrs. Harrison at the 
head and with Mrs. Cabell as active President, and with your 
organizing ability appropriated in just the right place, I was very 
happy. I would like very much to have an active hand in the 
Columbian Exhibition, but never have been, in the least, an 
office-seeker. My training has prepared me for work like that 
of Director Gen. Davis. If I could in any way represent in the 
organization the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion, or the spirit of 1776, it would please me. Please write me 
the result of your interview with Mrs. Harrison. 
Respectfully yours, 

W. O. McDowell. 

Newark, N. J., Oct. 29, 1890. 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darli^ig, 

Strathmore Arms, 12th St., Btw. G & H., 
Washington, D. C. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I have your letter and will you permit me a suggestion ? 
In your letter to Mrs. Pryor you said, " I have appointed you 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 179 

Vice-President." If you have said, " You have been elected " 
it would have made things smoother. In your letter to-day, 
you say that one of the officers had resigned, and " I accepted 
it with pleasure." Before the meeting for organization, you 
were acting individually, but now officially, collectively, and 
the " I " naturally grates. 

I am very much disappointed over the change in the seal. 
The face of the baby in the cradle, to me, is unimportant, but 
the cradle with the motto on the seal, gives a dignity to the 
Society of the Daughters, that will appeal to every true 
woman's heart. You can accomplish the most under this 
motto. 

Sincerely yours, 

W. O. McDowell. 

Newark, N. J,, Nov. 4, 1890. 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, 

Strathmore Arms, 12th St., Btw. G & H, 
Washington, D. C. 
My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I received your letter of November ist, and I appreciated 
it very much. Excepting one letter from Mrs. Cabell and a 
short note from her daughter, your letters are the only ones 
that I have received in connection with the Daughters, since I 
left Washington. 

I like your honorary Vice-President's idea very much, but 
the list should be enlarged so as to include every eligible " lady 
of the White House," Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Cleveland, and as 
you have taken one of the wives of a Vice-President, why 
would it not be a good idea to include also all Hving wives of 
present and past Vice-Presidents, that are eligible under your 
laws ? 

Please send me quite a number of the little circulars, giving 
officers, objects, members and fees, and I will distribute them 
where they will do you good. In one of your letters you 
suggested that my daughter should be the Daughter of the 



i8o FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Society. With this I inclose rough draft of a resolution, which 
if the ladies all approve, can be formally adopted, and placed on 
the minutes. 

Sincerely yours, 

W. O. McDowell. 

Newark, N. J., Nov. 19, 1890. 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, 

Strathmore Arms, 12th St., Btw. G & H, 
Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Mrs. Darling : 

I have not heard from you since Nov. 2nd, and I miss 
your welcome letters. I was sorry not to be able to attend the 
meeting on the i ith, but it was impossible. A clipping from a 
Washington paper gives me the account of the meeting. When- 
ever you have a moment's spare time, drop me a line, letting 
me know how you progress. 

Sincerely yours, 

W. O. McDowell. 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. i8i 



HttioMlNo../.. fiUfWa 



Society of the tofsoF the American Revolution. 



APPLICATIOS FOR MEMBERSHIP 



II)ilU. (S)j^dufk^ 



oncKnoxnr oil 



THIS IS A REPRODUCTION FROM THE APPLICATION SUBMITTED BY 

MR. WILLIAM O. MCDOWELL, FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE 

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 



1 82 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Tlie following letter from Mrs. Thomas C. Englisli, 
of Washington, D. C, substantiates my statements as 
to the meeting at her house on April 29, 1890, when 
the idea of organizing the D. A. R. was first spoken of 
by me to Mrs. English and Miss Washington : 

Independence Publishing Company, 

Philadelphia, Pa. 

Gentlemen: — I have personal knowledge of the initial 
work of founding the Daughters of the American Revolution, 
for it was at my home, 1907 N Street, N. W., Washington, D. C, 
that the idea suggested itself to Mrs. Flora Adams Darling. 
On Sunday, April 29, 1890, she and Miss Eugenia Washington 
met at my house. Mrs. Darling told us that the Sons of the 
American Revolution were to organize on April 30, and that 
she wished to form a society for the Daughters. Miss Washington 
and I signified our pleasure in joining in this work. I set 
about preparing my genealogy, and wrote to my aunt to look 
up the records of my family. We three ladies decided that we 
would get our friends interested in the work, and that in the 
fall the formal organization could be effected. 

Mrs. Darling offered Miss Washington and myself offices in 
the society. I had to decline because of the recent loss of my 
son and daughter, I have always been proud of the work 
done by Mrs. Darling, and take pleasure in making this state- 
ment of facts. 

Very truly yours, 

Caroline V. English, 
Widow of Col. Thomas C. Enghsh, U. S. A. 
Washington, D. C, December 28, 1900. 

I have never spoken or written anything to be 
private. I have spoken of parties and events as I have 
a right to do, and as I have been spoken of My 
memory for spoken words is very tenacious, but I am 
able to give written words to verify assertion. I want 



FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 183 

this proof placed before people, visible in parallel 
lines. It is a fatal cbapter to defeat false claimants. 

I can say with full responsibility for all that it 
implies, that if men of honorable position and women 
of representative character can, in the clear light of 
truth, aid the conspiracy to perpetuate a corner-stone 
of fraud on which to rest a National Society ; if they 
can, knowing the origin and facts, decorate aides as 
founders, and place them as such on a pedestal of 
falsehood, they are unworthy of private confidence or 
public trust. But the conspiracy of suppressed facts 
has been well carried out, for it to be possible to have 
medalized fraud without protest. 

I have no favors to ask ; I have all the recogni- 
tion that a woman can desire from society and socie- 
ties, but I despise falsehood, and to rest under an 
official lie is not an evidence of good j udgment. 

I have sown for others to reap, and I hope the 
harvest will be rich in realized hopes. I promised to 
continue until success was w^on, and that promise was 
fulfilled. In organizing I advanced with caution, 
without precedent to guide me, and sailed into an 
unknown sea of perilous experiment ; but the certainty 
of being right nerved me with energy to reach the 
goal Success, the golden shore of Realization, under 
the grand old colors of buff and blue. Now, from 
purely personal reasons, "here I rest." I retire from 
all active work in the several societies organized by 
me, of which I am known as founder. 

To the Daughters of the American Revolution : 
they hold the gift of my service — the seal designed by 
me and the motto I selected, to have and to hold in 
memory of justice. 

To the Daughters of the Revolution I give my 



i84 FOUNDING OF THE DAUGHTERS. 

Heart, and eacli one liolds a place in memory under 
the title head, "Faithful and True." 

To the United States Daughters, 1812, and other 
kindred societies I place them in the calendar of 
happy memories, and I trust the Daughters will think 
of me as I do of them with affection, and that the end 
will crown their work. 

If any effort of mine has aided the onward 
march, reward is fully realized in the progress we 
have made. The path-finder may die, but the path 
will remain — not made, however, by one woman or 
three, but by legions of noble patriotic women fully 
equipped through inheritance of birthright and prin- 
ciples of ancestry to enter the path and carve out 
results as true "daughters of noble sires." Whether 
our work be for weal or woe, we have built our own 
pedestals whereon we stand to be j udged, not only by 
our contemporaries, but by posterity, and for a moment 
let us ask, "are our titles clear for judgment" ? 

Faithfully, 
FLORA ADAMS DARLING, A. M., 
Founder-General 
Daughters of the American Revolution National 

Society, 1890 ; 
Daughters of the Revolution General Society, 189 1 ; 
United States Daughters, 181 2, Jan. 8th, 1892, et al. 
Societies of America. 

Washington^ D. C, December ^o^ igoo. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DAUGHTERS OF l8l2. 

THE natural sequence of the war of 1776 was the 
war of 18 1 2. So it was in the organization of 
patriotic societies. In founding one I formulated and 
instituted the second Societj^ of Daughters, a creation 
that reached success without rebellion. 

Its objects were to unite the descendants of the 
men of 181 2, the second war of Independence that 
assured Federation, to foster pride in their descendants 
from an American point of view. 

Love of Liberty, Home and Country is a heaven- 
born instinct not bound by latitude or longitude, nor is 
it confined b}^ wealth or position. In a society of this 
kind we wished for a broad conception ; a lofty vision 
of duty and confidence in one another. We stood 
upon a comprehensive basis and welcomed descendants 
of every patriot of the service whether they be rich or 
poor, whether the}^ be proud or humble, whether promi- 
nent or plain, as ''One of Us." But at the same 
time we took good care to their right of eligibility and 
investigated claims with caution to accomplish our ob- 
ject. It is imperative and should be absolutely un- 
derstood and enforced if necessary that in all social 
and official acts that members should avoid all sem- 
blance of sectional feeling, or of political or religious 
partisanship, thereby the more efi'ectually aiding to 
bring all descendants of the patriots of the Revolution 
together in this new organization whose watchword is 
" Patriotism ". This was our axiom. The experience 
I had so dearly obtained through the Board of the D. A. 



1 86 DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 

R. made me cautious, and tliose associated witli me 
alert. 

Mrs. Stephen Adams Webster of New York and 
Ohio, Mrs. A. Ramon Sal as, of New York and 
Georgia,, Mrs. Edward Irving Darling, of New York 
and Washington, were made the trinity to aid me. 
Mrs. K. I. Darling died before we reached the shore of 
realization, Mrs. Webster lived to see the work 
crowned before she passed beyond. Mrs. Salas still 
remains ; but when left alone, through the death of 
her husband, she resigned from active work. 

Mrs. Webster was a substantial patriot, pioneer 
and promoter in patriotic work, and her work in Ohio 
lives after her. 

Work was instituted in seven States to make 
ready to organize on or before January 8th, 1892. The 
initial meeting was held at the residence of my son in 
Detroit, Michigan, on January 8th, 1892. 

The following circular was issued to set forth the 
purposes of the society : 

By-Laws 
Of the United States Daughters, 18 12. 

The name of this Society shall be the United States 

Daughters, 18 12. 

The Objects. 

The objects are the same as the Daughters of the Revolu- 
tion, to keep alive among its members and their descendants 
the memory and spirit of the men who gave to the United 
States the fruits of the Revolution by cementing the bonds of 
Confederation into enduring Union, and to do honor to the 
patriots of 1 8 1 2. Especially to honor the memorable deeds of the 
Heroes of Lake Erie, who opened the gateway of freedom by 
Perry's Victory, and the Victorious Army who closed the war 
on the historic banks of the Mississippi, giving posterity the 



DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 187 

sequel of the Revolution; to collect and secure for preservation 
the manuscript rolls, records and other documents relating to 
the war of 18 12. To promote historical studies and social 
intercourse among its members, and to advocate appropriate 
celebrations of patriotic anniversaries. To provide a home for 
the impoverished daughters of noble sires, where they can be 
safely sheltered from the storms of life and be made to feel they 
have a " home and country." In view of this desired object 
and that the descendants of the patriots of 1812 may enjoy co- 
equal welcome and hospitality, we will co-operate with our elder 
sister the Daughters of the Revolution. Each State society of 
the United States Daughters shall pay annually to the Treasurer 
of the General Society of the Daughters of the Revolution 25 
cents for each member, to insure the benefits of co-operative 
association. All such dues shall be paid before October i ith in 
each and every year. 

Membership. 
Any woman is eligible for membership who is of the a^e 
of sixteen years or over, and who is lineally descended fi om an 
ancestor who with unfailing loyalty rendered material aid in the 
war of 1 8 1 2 as soldier or sailor in the United States or territories, 
provided that she shall be found worthy. Statements estab- 
lishing their claims must be written on blanks furnished by the 
Secretary and must be provided for in duplicate. The seal will 
designate Perry's victory — the badge to be some flower made 
in gold or enamel of fine workmanship to become the National 
Flower of the United States — to be decided at a given date by 
a Floral Convention of the Daughters when a majority vote of 
delegates one from each State shall decide. I prefer a red and 
white rose tied with blue ribbon, on the ends of the bows the 
title U. S. D. ; and the name and number engraved upon a badge 
represents our colors in a Union of Roses, also the national 
flower of our English Mother. 

The Founder. 
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling, Founder and Director-General 
of the Daughters of the Revolution we recognize as Founder of 



1 88 DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 

the Daughters of 18 12 and in recognition of the service we 
make her Honorary Life member of our society. 

It was believed tlie Daughters of the Revolution 
would become an ally with the younger sister ; but it 
was found desirable to stand alone, in order to avoid 
friction with the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion who chose to call it a rival — which was an error, 
with over a third of a century to separate the claims 
on which eligibility rested. 

At this initial meeting January 8th, 1892, the 
seal of the Society was adopted. Liberty Enlightening 
the World — the motto, Liberty and Fraternity ; the 
colors of the Society, blue and gray. The badge a 
star and anchor. 

The following card of membership was accepted, 
also the certificate of notification of appointments of 
State Presidents and Honorary Vice-Presidents. 

United States Daughters 
1 8 1 2. 



GENERAL SOCIETY- 



THIS CERTIFIES that has 

been duly admitted a member of this society iti right of proved 
military services rendered in the zvars of 1776 and 18 12 by her 
ancestor, and who thereby aided in achieving the Independence and 
Federation of the United States. 
In witness whereof the corporate 
seal is hereto affixed 

President Genetal. 

An engraved certificate of membership will be issued later by the society. 



DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 189 

Below is an extract from a circular letter sent out 
by me as President-General, to State Presidents, 
January 8th, 1892. 

" Let us honor the past for out of it has been wrought the 
present ; and it should be a privilege as well as duty for us to 
pass over the cable of time the traditions of our ancestors to 
educate the second century in the events and principles that led 
to the Independence of the United States. 

"in an association like ours, extended opportunities to 
verify traditions of that age that tried men's souls is given to 
publish memoirs of the hfe, letters and times of the Women of 
the Revolution as well as the patriots, and in individual records 
of this kind is found the raw material for histoiy, a style of lit- 
erature in which the United States is very deficient. The life of 
those who won Independence for the Colonies and their Sons 
who cemented the Union by the blood of sacrifice was difficult, 
and few facilities were offered to put on record the story of their 

work. 

" It has been asked why I organized in Ohio? It was sen- 
timent that led me to select the Daughter of Virginia to organ- 
ize the first State Society. It was sentiment that led me to se- 
lect, September 30th, for the first meeting— to commemorate 
the date of the purchase of the Great North-West Territory. It 
was sentiment that led me to select January 8th, as Commemo- 
rative Day of the Great Event of 18 15. It was sentiment that 
led me to select September, 19th, for the annual meeting of the 
Daughters of Ohio — A Day of Memories — to the descendants 
of Patriots— Perry's Victory, 18 13. (was made known to waiting 
hearts on this day.) The Battle of Chickamauga was recorded, 
1863, the death of President Garfield, i88i.and the organiza- 
tion of this Society to keep such memories green. 

Letters were sent to all who were appointed and 
elected, and the responses evinced widespread interest 
in the Second Daughter of the Republic. The follow- 



190 DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 

ing were elected life members, with special notifica- 
tion, as women of tlie war. Each accepted with 
pleasure. 

LIFE MEMBERS. 

Mrs. A. S. Hubbard, the venerable mother of Col. A. S. 
Hubbard, of California, Founder of the " Sons of Revolutionary 
Sires," in the Centennial Year of Our Independence. 

Mrs. Delia Stewart Parnell, the daughter of a hero, the 
mother of a patriot. 

Mrs. Nancy Darling, widow of James Darling, a Revolu- 
tionary Soldier from North Carolina. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Sinclair Jones of Virginia, member of a 
family who has given the Army and Navy of the United States 
Men of History. 

Mrs. Catherine Sharp of Philadelphia — the dilapidated 
records show Anna C. Dowell was born February 6th, 1778, 
before this country had closed the struggle with Great Britain ; 
her husband, John Sharp, served his country in the War of 
181 2; she is probably the oldest pensioner of our country's 
bounty. She is 1 14 years of age, has lived under twenty-three 
Presidents. She is in fact a daughter of the Revolution. 

Early in October, 1893, the following circular was 
issued, that covered the work present, and intended, 
until a permanent organization, made up of incorpo- 
rated organized societies should report Jan. 8th, 1896. 
The Everett House, New York City, was the head- 
quarters of the society : 

GENERAL SOCIETY 

UNITED STATES DAUGHTERS, 
1 776-1 8 1 2. 



Under Authority of our Constitution, 

Mrs is appointed 

Honorary Vice-President General, and member of the Historic 



DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 191 

Council, to keep alive the memories of the Men who gave 
Liberty and Fraternity to the Western World. 
In witness thereof the Seal is hereon affixed. 

[seal] 

President General. 
New York City 189 

Later on an engraved certificate of membership will be issued 
by the General Society. 

Ohio — the Mother of the Northwest, is entitled to 
special mention. The State of our incorporation, the 
gift of appreciative work given by Mrs. Stephen Adams 
Webster and her friends of the Western Reserve. She 
was seriously ill and died before the completion of the 
noble design by a noble woman — and with her death 
natural evolution followed — but let the Daughters of 
Ohio ever remember the Pioneer Mother of the Ohio 
Society United States Daughters 181 2. Incorporated 
September 13, in honor of Perry's Victory. A Ship 
of War, the Seal, and the Motto so bravely demon, 
strated on Lake Erie : "Don't Give Up the Ship." 

Incorporation Paper : 

CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION 
OF 

THE UNITED STATES DAUGHTERS OF 18 12. 

Be IT KNOWN that the undersigned, all of full age and 
citizens of the United States and citizens of the State of Ohio, 
excepting the Founder, being desirous of organizing a corpora- 
tion to commemorate the Historical events of the War of 18 12, 
do hereby certify : 

First — This Society shall be known by the title of "Ohio 
State Society." 

Second — The Society is organized for a term of one 
thousand years, from the nth day of October, A. D. , 1891, 



igz DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 

The particular object to secure a Home for impoverished 
Daughters of Noble Sires of the Revolutionary Period and the 
War of 18 1 2. 

Third — The number of officers for the first year of its 
existence is seven ; a council of twenty-one members may be 
elected at the discretion of the presiding officer. 

Flora Adams Darling, 

Foimder and Director. 

Signed and sealed in the presence of 

Beatrice R. E, Webster, 

J. I. P. Chapman, 

Mrs. N.J. A. Minich, 

Mrs. Mary A. Woodbridge, 

Mrs. Frances A. Wallson, 

Mrs. M. J. Sawyer, 

Mrs. Viola Ross Chapman. 

State of Ohio 1 
Portage County j 

Before me, M. S. Chapman, a Justice of the Peace in and 

for said County, personally appeared the within named parties 

who certify that the representations set forth in the foregoing 

petition are true according to tlie best of their knowledge and 

behef. Taken and subscribed to this 21st day of September, 

A. D., 1891. 

M. S. Chaman, J. P. 



Ohio State Society 
UNITED STATES DAUGHTERS, 
1812. 
Under authority of the General Society of the Daughters 
of the Revolution. 



Mrs. Stephen Adams Webster has been appointed Regent- 
General and Director for the State of Ohio, to form a State 



DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 193 

Society of the United States Daughters of 1812, and have the 
same in charge for four years. 

I take great pleasure in inviting you to become a 
member. 

Flora Adams Darling, 

Director- General, 
Daughters of the Revolution and U. S. Daughters, 18 12, 

The first circular issued announced State work. 

General Society. 

UNITED STATES DAUGHTERS,— 1812 

Incorporated 1892. 

President- General and CJiief Regent-Genet al in Charge of 
Historian, Organization aud Director- 

Mrs. Flora Adams Darling. General of State Societies, 

Mrs. Augustus Ramon Salas. 
ist Vice- President-General, Secteiary-Getieral, 

Mrs. Stephen Adams Webster. Mrs. George A. Ludin. 

J Tr- n -J . ^ I Treasurer-General, 

2d Vice-President-Ge7teral, ht -r- 

.,. ^ . r- ,1, Mrs. Edward Irving Darling. 
Miss Georgine Campbell. ** ** 

Historiayi- General, 
^d Vice-Pt esident-General, Mrs. Le Roy Sunderland 

Mrs. Celestia B. Waldron. Smith. 

Private Secretary to President-General, 
Miss Florence L. Adams. 

Chaplain-General, 
Rev. Dr. Charles DeWitt Bridgman. 

Chief Councillors, 
Gen. Charles W. Darling Mr. Cliarles Patton Dimitry 

Gen. James Grant Wilson Mr. Louis J. Allen 

Gen. William S. Stryker Mr. Silas Farmer 

Col. R. T. Durrctt. 



194 



DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 



Ohio, 

Mrs. Stephen Adams Webster, 

Texas, 

Mrs. James H. French. 

New York, 

Mrs. Edward Paulet Steers. 

MicJiigan, 

Mrs. William Russell. 

Massachusetts, 

Mrs. Nelson V. Titus. 

Petinsylvania, 

Mrs. Louis J. Hall. 

North Dakota, 

Mrs. Henry W. Lord. 

Mississippi, 



State Presidents. 

West Virginia, 

Miss Lilly Irene Jackson. 

Louisiana, 

Mrs. E. J. Nicholson. 

Arkansas, 

Miss Fanny M. Scott. 

Alabama, 

Mrs. V. C. Clopton. 

Florida, 

Mrs. Wm. F. Shine. 

North Carolina, 

Mrs. George H. Brown, 

South Carolina, 

Mrs. Thomas Taylor. 

Maine, 

Miss Helen Bailey. 



Miss Varina Jefferson Davis. 

Honorary Presidents-General. 

Mrs. Flora Adams Darhng 
Mrs. Gen. U. S. Grant, Mrs. President Jefferson Davis 

Mrs. President James A. Garfield, Mrs. Gen. W. H. F. Lee 

Honorary Vice-Presidents-General. 



Mrs. Augustus Ramon Salas 
" Gen. Albert Sidney 

Johnston 
Gen. Braxton Bragg 
Gen. John A. King 
Gen. James Jackson 
John Quincy Adams 
Dr. Charles Page 
Lucius P. Deming 
DeWitt Clinton Mather 
Edward Irving Darling 
Martha Berrien Duncan 



Mrs. John B. Sale 
" Charles Washington 

Coleman 
" Ellen Call Long 
*' Eliza Anciaux Berrien 

Carroll 
" Jesse Turner 
" Letitia Tyler 
" Julia Tutwilder 
" Robert Johnson 
" Stephen Adams Webster 
" Gen. John C. Fremont 



DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 195 

Mrs. John J. Bagley Mrs. Francis G. Smith 

" Wm. Hancock Clark " George M. Guild 

" Joseph H. Washington " De Volney Everett 

" Wm. W. Eaton " Wm. H. Jones 

" Edward Roby " Horace T. Adams 

" Fielding Lewis William " W. H. Sims 

" Marion Allen Ludin " James Fort 

" Le Roy Sunderland Miss Louise Adams Guild 
Smith " Florence L. Adams 

Honorary Life Members, 
Mrs. Margaret Bottome Mrs. Elizabeth Sinclair Jones 

'* Mary A. Woodbridge " Anna Halloo Hubbard 

" Caroline Virginia " Nancy Darling 

English " Catherine Sharp 

" Delia Stewart Parnell 

To United States Daughters. 
Ladies : — Before our annual meeting, January 8th, it seems 
incumbent to make an official statement regarding the organiza- 
tion and objects of our Society and set forth the demands that 
are made for State Societies — the original plan upon which the 
Daughters of the Revolution was founded October i ith, 1890, 
Subsequently the system of government was changed, making 
the Society established in Washington, a national organization ; 
the expediency of the action was questioned by a large number 
of eligible ladies who contemplated uniting with the order as 
Independent State Societies, declined to enroll under other con- 
ditions. Daughters of 1776, in conjunction with the Daughters 
of 18 12, founded a Society of States. The Daughters of 1776, 
believe the Daughters of 18 12, entitled to co-equal honors in 
the founding of our Republic. The object of this joint Society 
is to secure the genealogies, facts and traditions of the Founders 
of America, where they came from, the vessels they arrived in, 
their descendants, and records of service in the French War, in 
the Revolution and War of 18 12; these facts supplemented 
with interesting legends of conspicuous characters, that have 



196 DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 

passed over the cable of time from father to son, form the basis 
of history and furnishes memoirs and biographical sketches of 
prominent men and women who have given history to the world 
through words and deeds. The heroism of the women of the 
Revolution, and 18 12, the Second War of Independence, has 
gone from memory with the generation that witnessed it; 
nothing remains but the faint echo of an expiring general tradi- 
tion, but each State has its own mission as it has its own heroes 
sleeping in unmarked graves who have been practically forgotten. 
Yet a halo lingers over events and results of their lives to be 
awakened and adorned by the United States Daughters. It is 
said Sumpter has only a wooden head-board and the tomb of 
Marion is a mass of scattered fragments, and that only a very 
unpretentious monument marks the grave of Gen. George 
Rogers Clark, but we are banded together to seek history, and 
mark graves. 

The Washington Society is pledged to build a Manor 
House in that cit)% the New York Society is pledged to publish 
Revolutionary Records of its members, the Historic Council is 
pledged to tell the story of States, and mark the graves of 
heroes. 

The Historic Council will be made up of forty-four eminent 
Historians — from State Historical Societies — to aid and advise 
Historians of the Society in their research for traditions of 
historic families supplemented by events of historical interest in 
the lives of descendants of Founders' Kin. The object of the 
Council is centered and crystalized. We do not claim to be a 
Benevolent Society or Social Organization. We seek to honor 
the past, to guide the future and through the united efforts of 
Daughters of Patriots secure a correct History of the United 
States. 

The Historic Council will formulate a course of study 
pertaining to the formation of States with records of life and 
work of eminent women of the Revolution and Daughters of 
the Republic, from the Day of Discovery to Anniversary Day, 
1892. 



DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 197 

Each member of the Society shall secure and write out the 
history of her family and all other historical particulars that may 
be of interest for publication. Historians of State Societies 
shall arrange the biographical sketches and send them to the 
Chief Historian who will refer the paper to a Committee on 
Publication, who will submit the same to the Historic Council 
for final supervision and thus officially verify the records of men 
and women who have adorned the four eras of our existence 
and given the world much history. 

A member presenting her genealogical statement to the 
Council shall pay 5 10 before filing to be deposited in bank as 
"Historic Fund" to help defray cost of publication. 

The memoirs shall be published in uniform style with steel 
plate of ancestors and intermediate descendants of the 
Founders of the First Republic of America. Meetings of the 
Council will be held annually January 8th, in different States, The 
Hermitage will be a mecca of the Daughters in honor of Jackson 
— the central figure of the War of 18 12. 

Honorary Officers. 

Wives and daughters of distinguished men have been 
elected, also women who have won fame in their own right to 
aid in local interest and secure success through influnce of name. 
Elected officers and members are entitled to the privilege of 
State Societies in their own State, or where they may be residing. 

The Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition 
(who are eligible) are elected honorary life members of the 
Historical Council in recognition of their great work to com- 
memorate the anniversary of the Discovery of America and the 
I i6th year of the United States Republic. 

Children of the Revolution. 
Two little boys are elected Standard Bearers of the Society, 
and one little girl from each State shall be elected by the Regent- 
General to bear the name of the Society ; one selected for 
the District of Columbia to be Regent of the Circle, and known 
as "Daughter of Columbia." Each shall be an honorary hfe 



198 DAUGHTERS OF 181 2. 

member, for such Buds of Promise will produce a harvest of 
future results. 

The General Society. 

The General Society is to unite the Executive Officers of 
State Societies, Honorary Members and Children of the Revo- 
lution with a few invited members to make up a membership of 
400 — with the Historic Council and Executive Councillors to 
promote intercourse between State Societies and to bind the 
units through fraternity. 

The General Society and Historic Council are under the 
same Board of Councillors and meet together annually January 
8th. A General Council including officers and members of 
State Societies will meet once in four years March 4th, in 
Washington, the date of the inauguration of the President of 
the United States. The seal of the General Society is Liberty 
Enlightening the World, the badge a small five pointed star with 
name of Society and No, of membership attached to a ribbon 
of blue and gray, and pinned with a crescent of gold on which 
is engraved, January 8th, 1892. Design will be ready for inspec- 
tion, January 8th, 1893. 

State Societies. 

Each State incorporates in her own right, adopts a seal and 
makes By-Laws, but adopts the Constitution and employs badge 
and colors of the General Society after a charter is granted. 

Each State is distinctively independent to elect State 
Officers, regulate annual dues, receive gifts and disburse funds, 
but through the General Council united in confederation — the 
basis of our Republic. Each State Society has a President, two 
Vice-Presidents, Regent-at-Large, Corresponding and Recording 
Secteraries, Historian, Treasurer, Librarian, Chaplain and Curator. 
It is expected each State Society will elect thirteen honorary life- 
members from the oldest and most honored ladies of State 
renown. 

Presidents of State Societies can appoint a little boy of 
lineal descent from a Patriot of 1776 or 18 12, to be known as 
State Ensign. 



DAUGHTERS OF 1812. 199 

Before January 8th, 1893, it is expected that every State 
will make an initial movement to organize ; Ohio the pioneer 
society is a model society in its results. 

Seven daughters of lineal descent of 1776 or 18 12, can 
organize a State Society. 

The President arranges dates and with her Council decides 
upon methods to insure the welfare of the Society — the term of 
office for all State Officers is for four years and re-election can 
take place when the majority so elect. 

The following article regarding the eligibility applies to all 
States and is the basis of the Society : 

•'Ladies eligible to membership in the Society, U. S. D., 
1776-1812, must be lineal descendants from an ancestor who 
assisted in the War of 1776-18 12, either as a Military or Naval 
Officer, a Soldier, or a Sailor, or in any way gave aid to the 
cause, provided always that the Society reserves to itself the 
privilege of rejecting any nominee who may not be accept- 
able to it. 

In all States the initiation fee shall be one dollar. 

Each State Society regulates annual dues, but shall pay to 
the Treasurer-General ^i.oo for each executive officer and 
twenty- five (25) cents for each active member, to secure repre- 
sentation in and benefits of the Historic Council of the General 
Society. Application for membership must be made upon 
blanks set forth by the Executive Council of General Society. 
The title shall be the name of the State, and as an independent 
State enroll in the confederation of United States for historical 
purposes. 

The Constitution, By-Laws and Qrder of Business, with 
Course of Study for the year of 1893, will be issued after the 
meeting January 8th, to be held at the Everett House, New York 
City, the chief office of the Society. 

New York, October, 1892. 



CHAPTER IX. 
ADAMS ANCESTRY IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. 

Adams Ancestry in Europe, 

FROM THE 

6th Century to Henry Adams, in America. 



Arnulph, Bishop of Metz; died A. D. 631, had 

Pepin, le Vieux, died A. D. 639 ; his daughter had 

Pepin le Gros, who died 714 ; had 

Charles Martel (the King-Maker), was born A. D. 690, and died 

October 22, A. D. 741. He was first King of France ; had 
Pepin, le Bref, died A. D. 768, who had 
Charlemagne, Emperor of the West, was born April 2nd, 742, at 

Aix le Chapelle ; was King of the French, A. D. 768-814. 

Emperor of Rome, A. D. 800-814, when he died. His son 
Louis I. The Pious, King of France, had 
Charles IT. The Bald, King of France ; his daughter 
judith, married Count Baldwin I. ; had 
Baldwin II. Count of Flanders ; had 
Arnolph, The Great, Count of Flanders, who had 
Baldzvin III. Count of Flanders, who had 
Arnolph II., Fifth Count of Flanders, who had 
Baldzvin IV., Sixth Count of Flanders, who had 
Baldwin V., Seventh Count of Flanders, and his wife Princess 

Adele, daughter of King Robert, the Pious, who was son of 
Hugh Capet, King of France, had a daughter, 
Matilda, who married William the Conqueror, King of England, 

aud Seventh Duke of Normandy, in A. D. 1053. 
William The /., King of England, born A. D. 1027. Con- 
quered England A. D. 1066, and died A. D. 1087. The 

daughter of 
William and Matilda {Maud) , Princess Gundred, married 
**The Great Earl," William de Warren, a Norman baron of 

Danish descent, who accompanied William the Conqueror 



ADAMS ANCESTRY. 201 

on his expedition to England, and took an important part 
in the battle of Hastings, fought October 14, 1066. For 
his valor that day he was rewarded with lands in Sussex, 
Surrey, Norfolk, and Suffolk, and had conferred on him 
the earldom of Surrey by William. He married Princess 
Gundred, fourth daughter of William and Matilda, and 
became the projenitor of the earls of Warren and of Surrey. 
At Lews, near Newhaven, he lies buried, and here " The 
Great Earl" and Princess Gundred founded a "a glorious 
Priory to the glory of God." From this ancestry the 
Warrens, also the Adamses, are followed down through 
earls, knights, and commoners, to the period of the settle- 
ment of America. {See '' History of Warren Family in 
America'' N. E. H. Rooms, Boston, Mass.) 

Princess Gundred and William de Warren, " The Great Earl," 
had 

Edith, who married Gerard, Baron de Gournai, had 

Hugh, Baron de Gournai, who had Hugh de Gournai, Lord of 
Bevistan, who was father of Anselin de Gournai, Lord of 
Bevistan. 

[ohfi de Gournai, Lord of Bevistan, father oi Elizabeth, who mar- 
ried Sir John, Lord Ap Adam, of Charlton Adam, in 
Somersetshire. He was summoned to Parliament as Baron 
of the Realm, A. D. 1 296-1 307. In the upper part of a 
Gothic window in Tidenham Church, near Chepstow, the 
name of Lord Ap Adam, ijio, and " arms argent on a cross 
gules five mullets or," are still to be found beautifully 
executed in stained glass of great thickness and in perfect 
preservation. This church, still in a good state of preser- 
vation, originally stood within the boundary of Wales, but 
at a later period the boundary line was changed, and it now 
stands on English soil. Ap. Adam (the first) " came out 
of the Marches of W^ales." Lords of the Marches were 
noblemen who in the early ages inhabited and secured the 
Marches of Wales and Scotland, ruling as petty kings, with 
their private laws. 



202 ADAMS ANCESTRY. 

Sir John, Lord Ap Adam and Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Lord 

de Gotirnai, who it is historically said, was related to all the 

reigning houses of Europe, had 

Sir John Ap Adam, Knight, who had William, who had 

Sir John Ap Adam, Knight, who had Thomas, Sir Knight, who 

married Lady Jane, daughter of Sir John Ing, Knight, had 

Sir John, married Lady Milicent, daughter of Sir Mathew Besylls, 

who had 
Sir Johi Adams (prefix Ap being dropped and s added), who 

married Clara, daughter oi Roger Powell, who had 
Roger Adams, who married yi2«^ Ellett and had 
Thomas Adams, who married Marie Upton, and had 
John Adams, who married Catherine Stebbing, and had 
John Adams, who married Margery Squier, and had 
Richard Adams, who married Margaret Armager, and had 
William. Adams, who married Miss Borington, and had 
Hemy Adams, who married Mary Alexander, daughter of Lord 
Sterling, and came to America in 1632, being the first 
of our Adams family in this country. He settled at Brain- 
tree, Mass., and was the progenitor of the family, whose 
genealogy follows. 



Adams Ancestry in America. 

(i) Henry Adams, wife Mary Alexander, of Braintree, 
Massachusetts, came from England in 1632, with his eight sons 
and one daughter : 

Henry, born 1604; 

Thomas, born 161 2 ; 

Samuel, born 161 7 ; 

Jonathan, born 16 19; 

Peter, born 1622 ; 

John, born 1624; 

Joseph, born 1626; 

Edward, born i6jo ; 

Ursula. 



ADAMS ANCESTRY. 203 

Thomas Adams, brother of Henry of Braintree, was one of 
the grantees named in the Charter of Charles I., 1629. He was 
at different times Alderman, High Sheriff, and Lord Mayor of 
London. He, Thomas, transferred his grant to his brother 
Henry, who was original proprietor of Braintree. and kept the 
records of the town during his life. He died 1646. {See His- 
tory of Braintree, Massachusetts, N. E. H. & G. Register, et al.) 
His descendant, John Adams, second President of the United 
States, erected a granite column to his memory in the church- 
yard at Braintree, "from a veneration of the piety, humility, 
sympathy, prudence, patience, temperance, frugality, industry, 
and perseverance of his ancestors, in hope of recommending an 
emulation of their virtues to their posterity." 

(2) Edward Adams, the eighth son of Henry of Braintree, 
was born in England in 1630 ; he married Lydia Rockwood, 
daughter of Nicholas Rockwood. From Edward s^X2lX\^ the early 
Adams family of Milton. He had fourteen children : 

Lydia, born July 12, 1653 ; 

Jonathan, born, April 4, 1655 5 

Johti, born February 18, 16^ J ; 

Elishabad, born February 18, 1659 \ 

Sarah, born May 29, 1660 ; 

James, born January 4, 1662 ; 

Henry, born October 29, 1663 ; 

Mehitable, born March 20, 1665 ; 

Elisha, born August 25, 1666 ; 

Edward, born June 28, 1668 ; 

Bethia, born April 12, 1671; died in a few days ; 

Bethia, born August 18, 1672 ; died in a few days ; 

Abigail, born January 25, 1675 ; 

Miriam, born February 26, 1676. 

Edward Adams with William Partridge and Nicholas 
Rockwood were original settlers and grantees of Medfield, Massa- 
chusetts. He was much employed in public duties ; was ensign 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery ; Selectman for many years ; 
Commissioner; representative to General Court, etc. His first 



204 ADAMS ANCESTRY. 

wife Lydia, by whom he had his fourteen children, died in 1676 
In 1678 he married Abigail Day, who died 1707. His third 
wife, Sarah Taylor, he married in 17 10. He, Edward Adams, 
died in 17 16, November 12th, the last of the original settlers. 
{For above see ' ' History of Medfieid, Massachusetts, Settlement of 
Medfield,'' pp. 49, 53, 66, 78, and on ; " New England Historical 
Register,'' et al.) 

(3) y^/^« Adams of Medfieid, third child of VHI. Edward, 
was born in Braintree, February 8, 1657. Settled at Medfieid 
and married in 1682 Deborah Partridge, who was born 1662. 
In this year John had a grant of land on the east side ot the 
Charles River. By his wife Deborah he had five children : 

Edzvard, born in 168 j ; 
John, born December 22, 1684 ; 
Daniel, born January 12, 1686 ; 
Eleazer, born September 22, 1687 ; 
Obadiah, born January 28, 1689. 

By his second wife he had eight children : 
Thomas, born February 5, 1695 ; 
Susannah, born 1697 ; 
Jeremiah, born July 13, 1699 > 
Abraham, born August i, 1701 ; 
Bethia, born 1702 ; 
Phineas, born May 19, 1705 ; 
Hannah, born 1707 ; 
Esther, 

(4) Edward Adams, the first son oi John and Deborah A., 
was born in Medfieid, 1683 ; removed to Milton and married 
Rachel Saunders, of Braintree, Sept. ir, 1706. His wife died 
November 14, 1727, and he married Sarah Bracket. Edward 
(4) and Rachel Adafus had seven children : 

John, born February 26, 1709 ; 
Rachel, born June 17, 171 1 ; 
Seth, born September 30, 1713 ; 
Nathan, born March 28, 1716; 



ADAMS ANCESTRY. 205 

Samuel, born March 5, 171 8; 
Patrimi, born August 7, 1720. 
Edward. 
He died on September 22, 1743. 

(5) /^-^^'^ Adams, the first son o{£dzvard{4) and Rachel Adams, 
was born February 26, 1709 ; married Sarah Swift, daughter of 
Col. Samuel Swift, May 18, 1730. They had tAvelve children : 

Samuel, born January 30, 173 1 (died soon); 

Rachel, born January 6, 1732 ; 

John, born 1733 (died August 12, 1735) ; 

Andrew, born August 12, 1735 ; 

Annah, born May 20, 1737 ; 

Seth, born December 30, 1740 ; 

Eliphalit, born February 23, 1743 (died February 5, 1748); 

Judith, born November 24, 1746; 

Eliphalit, born February 5, 1748 ; 

Lemuel, born December 7, 1748 ; 

Sarah, born March 31, 1752 ; 

Mary, born December 31, 1753. 
His second wife was the " Widow Warren." This JoJm Adams 
was Deacon John, a man of large means for that day. 

(6) Andrew Adams, third son of John and Sarah Adams, 
was born in Milton, August 12, 1735. He married Ruth Wads- 
worth December 16, 1757. She was the daughter of Rev. fohn 
Wadszt'orth, grandson of Captain Sam. Wadsworth. They had 
eight children : 

Lucy, born February 18, 1759; 

John, born July 23, 1761 ; 

Ruth, born July i, 1763 ; 

Lemuel, born April 15, 1769 ; 

Benjamin, born March 25, 1771 ; 

Stephen Wadsworth, born February 25, 1780; 

Lewis, born March 3, 1782 ; 

Andrew. 

(6) Andrew Adams held a commission of a lieutenant in a 
company of cavalry under George HL, also a commission of 



2o6 ADAMS ANCESTRY. 

coroner for County of Suffolk in the Province of Massachusetts 
Bay ; ser\4ed in the Revolutionary War ; was at Lexington, 
Bunker Hill, Dorchester Heights, and marched with Colonel 
Wheelock on the alarm for Bennington. He was brevetted 
colonel, and died at Lancaster, N. H., April 14, 1833. His 
wife died October 27, 1820, aged 83 years. {See ''Massa- 
chusetts Miscellaneous Rolls" ; obituary notice in " Norfolk Adver- 
tiser;' May 14, 18 J J ; " History of Milton;' pp. 554 and 555-) 

(7) Benjamin Adams, fifth child and third son of Andrew 
and Ruth Wadsworth, was born in Milton, Massachusetts, March 
25, 1 77 1. He married Sally Lamb , da.ug\\ter of Thomas Lamb, 
who was Captain of Jackson Additional Company, Continental 
Artillery, April 2, 1801. They removed to Lancaster, New 
Hampshire, 1812, where he died in 1846. They had eight 
children. 

Sally, born in Palmer, Massachusetts, Octobers, 1802; 
Selh, born in Lancaster, New Hampshire, February ii, 
1805; 

Lewis, born October 7, 1807 ; 

Harvey, born May 14, 1808 ; died January 9, 1869; 

Rebecca Lamb, born September 17, 1813 ; 

Reuben Lamb, born October 12, 181 5 ; 

John Wilson, born October 26, 1817 ; 

Ruth Ann, born January 10, 1821. 

(8) Harvey Adams, second son of Benjamin Adams and 
Sally Lamb, was born May 14, 1808, in Lancaster, New Hamp- 
shire. He married Mary Chesman, 1829; he married his second 
wife, Nancy {Dustin) Row ell, April, 1834, and died January 9, 
1869. He held many offices of public trust. On his twenty- 
first birthday he was made *' Justice of the Peace," which he ever 
after held. He represented his town in State Legislature 1846- 
1848; was commissioned Captain in 24th New Hampshire 
Militia; was promoted to colonelcy, but resigned. He was 
postmaster under Franklin Pierce. His children were : 

Charles Harvey, Jan. 21, 1833 ; by first wife, Mary Ches- 
man ; 



ADAMS ANCESTRY. 207 

Horace Turner, Mar. 31, 1835; by second wife, Nancy- 
Rowel 1 ; 

Mary Elizabeth, Dec. 17, 1836; died October 2, 1851 ; 

Harriet Ellen (" Nellie ") ; Oct. 11, 1838 ; 

Flora A., July 25, 1840; 

Sadie Blaisdell, Aug. 23, 1842 ; 

Eaiily Amelia; Sept. 20, 1844; died February 22, 1846 
(infant) ; 

Julia Frances, June 19, 1846; 

John Quincy, Oct. 26, 1848 ; 

Henry Edward, Apr. 21, 1851 ; 

Jennie Gordon, Feb. 15, 1853 ; 

Clara Estelle, Feb. 24. 1855. 

(9) Flora Adams married, March 12, i860. General Edward 
Irving Darling, only son of C. Irving and Marie Dumas (Lafitte) 
Darling. General Darling, C. S. A., was mortally wounded at 
Franklin, Tennessee, November 29, 1863, dying three days 
later. Flora A. is a successful and pleasing writer, her best 
known books being "Mrs. Darling's Letters" and "A Social 
Diplomat." She has founded several patriotic societies — 
Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of the Revo- 
lution, United States Daughters \Z\2,et al. 



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